It seems obvious, a heavy rock cover of the iconic Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me". But I can't say I've heard it done before. MuddiBrooke are Derby locals, just like me! So naturally my hometown pride forced me to give them a feature on the blog. But this isn't simple tokenism, MuddiBrooke rock just as or harder than any of the local male dominated rock acts and absolutely deserve a spot amongst the many other great bands I've reviewed over the years.
Now this review is more going to be a review of MuddiBrooke as a band and their entire body of work, as plenty of other far more intelligent things have been said by my music journalist colleagues about this great Lesley Gore cover. So I went on a deep dive into their catalogue and I am thoroughly impressed. It's exactly the kind of music that got me into music in the first place. The messages of rejection by society, feminism and sticking true to yourself really resonate with my emo rock roots. I can quite easily hear a band like My Chemical Romance covering a track such as "You Don't Own Me". But Muddibrooke take that sentiment and add in a helping of heavy 90's grunge to create a new and unique flavour on a seemingly tired sound.
Vocally I'm very much reminded of Fit For Rivals, if anyone besides me remembers them! But MuddiBrookes vocalist brings a new sense of power of ferocity that is really inspiring. What is also inspiring is just how well this band has done in such a short time. In just over two years and through a worldwide pandemic they have released a professional quality EP, multiple music videos and some really well done lyric videos that certainly deserve more views. I especially like "Liverpool Guy" as not only a great tune, but a statement about women and sexuality. Especially love the backing vocals on this one. More bands need to jump on the harmony train!
Stylistically MuddiBrooke are the kind of rock act that would've ruled this land back when my parents were getting into trouble in the Derby music scene. I'm glad to see that such music persists in Derby today with bands such as Reavrr, Fakers and of course MuddiBrooke. I'm quite proud to be part of the Derby scene and that is thanks to the great bands and artists we have here. I look forward to hearing more from MuddiBrooke soon.
Peace, Love & Cowbells,
Oscar
Check out MuddiBrooke here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T3fs7NL2zk
