His Mischief is a 3-man band hailing from St. Paul, Minnesota. Summer’s Eve, the group’s first release, is a six song mélange of garage rock, ’60s rock fuzz, and a dash of Clash-like punk.
The tracks have a very distinctly retro sound; lead singer Sheridan Fox has an uncanny knack for sounding like Britt Daniel (of Spoon) and Roger Daltrey (the Who). Fox, as well as Jeff Quinn (bass) and Jeff Brown (drums) have played with several other bands in their past, and came together to form His Mischief in 2005.
While the music itself is pared down and not overly complex or orchestrated, this group definitely has a laudable sound. Whether anyone would consider it groundbreaking and new is another question; however, it seems as though the rat race to create and re-create new genres has become a circular endeavor…it is clear that this band has simply found a sound and style that they do well and enjoy, genre be damned.
All pigeonholing aside, this group is off to a great start. The EPs last track, “Shalom, Shalom,” is perhaps the strongest, with minor arpeggios in the beginning, leading into a simple, but well structured chorus and outro. This is the kind of record you want to listen to while playing beer pong or working on a car engine…you know, garage-type activities that require that the volume be up and that good times are had by all.
