Mike Bagetta has quietly but steadily moved from the jazz world and into the rock world, and MSSV’s third record is a clear signal that the journey continues. Main Steam Shutoff Valve (if you’re not into acronyms) also boasts the talents of Mike Watt and Stephen Hodges, two people who know their way around a twisty song. Watt needs no introduction to people who regularly read this publication, and Hodges featured on two of the best Tom Waits records (Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs) as well as working with Mavis Staples, lending a hand on Watt’s Contemplating The Engine Room and a whole host of other gigs.
So the pedigree is clearly there. For those expecting an inferno of free playing, the record’s title track starts the record with a bouncy song that wouldn’t be out of place on a late ’80s college radio station. “Super Dumb” follows that up with more of the squall one might have expected, Bagetta’s guitar throwing sparks as Hodges builds a circular beat and Watt’s thunderstick is a steady rudder. The vocal delivery is much more street poetry as well, simple couplet rhymes that then give way to the maelstrom again.
“Boat Song” conjures images of a craft slipping off the moor and into an inky, foggy late night cruise with no predetermined destination. The subsequent song “Careful What You Wish For” has Watt taking impassioned lead vocals over a more traditional rock beat. “Tiny Pipes” is a return to the looser style, with stray threads continually pulled but not unravelling the entire fabric of the song. For vinyl enthusiasts, there’s a slight twist to the sonics you receive as compared to the streamers of the world; adventurers, check it out!
The band is out on the road now, and in inimitable Watt fashion the Haru Tour does a wending tour around the country for 52 straight days without a break. If you’re not playing, you’re paying!
