Blonder and Blonder [Bonus Tracks]

The Muffs: Kim Shattuck (vocals, guitar); Ronnie Barnett (bass); Roy McDonald (drums).
Additional personnel: Jim LaSpesa, Kristen Shattuck, Steve McDonald.
Personnel: Kim Shattuck (vocals, guitar); Roy McDonald (drums).
Audio Mixers: Jerry Finn; Rob Cavallo.
Liner Note Authors: Kim Shattuck; Ronnie Barnett; Roy McDonald.
Illustrators: Ed Fotheringham; Kim Shattuck.
Photographers: Alberto Tolot; Ken Schles.
The Muffs ascended to the majors in 1993, "discovered" by the same producer as Green Day. However, the three-piece L.A. band's brand of fevered rock, as revealed on 1995 Reprise debut BLONDER AND BLONDER, while certainly not short on hooks, betrayed much more complexity than your standard pop punk act. While the simple, bouncy, sing-a-long pop of "Sad Tomorrow" should have found a home in MTV heavy rotation, and "Agony" would have deftly followed "Longview" in any alt radio set, the rest of the record subtly bobs from the Runaways scream of "Oh Nina" to the barroom rockabilly of "Red Eyed Troll" to the '50s balladry of "End It All." A diverse record, doomed to be lost in the shuffle, BLONDER AND BLONDER is nevertheless a standard of what pop punk should be, an ever-evolving cavalcade of clashing ideas.