Furious Billy

"Sissyfoot" CD

Mungler Winslowe Records

Genres: lo-fi, indie rock, pop

Mungler Winslowe
PO Box 150671
Brooklyn NY 11215

Sep 6 - 12 2004

Furious Billy is a weird guy.  Sissyfoot, one of the many releases in his enthusiastically prolific discography, contains fourteen short pop nuggets, rock freak-outs, and acoustic folk tunes.  Despite the eclectic nature of the songs, though, this is a surprisingly cohesive album - the lo-fi style is maintained from beginning to finish, and all of the songs are entertaining and catchy.  Furious Billy may not be that well-known, but his songwriting is of a surprisingly high calibre.

Sissyfoot has its calm moments, and its crazy moments.  That seems to be the best way to classify the songs.  "The Fear" and "Glad You Came" are two beautifully mellow pop tunes, each boasting a sort of campfire folk attitude and a instant catchiness.  On the other hand, other songs seem to go for the guttural - infectiously abusive rocker "Hey Mike" and the Jon Spencer-esque "Yeah, Me Too" are deliciously high-octane.

Despite (or because of) how simple this album is, formulaically, I find it to be one of the most purely entertaining and listenable releases I've heard in recent history.  Perhaps home-taped, lo-fi music like this is a bit of a niche thing, but I would think most open-minded listeners will find a lot to like in Sissyfoot.

87%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 14 tracks, distributed by the label, released 2004]