Freaking Out

The liner notes to Freaking Out read, "All songs by Mondo Topless, except:" — followed by writing credits for all 12 tunes on the album. In time-honored tradition, the veteran Philly garage rock act pays homage to a few of its personal favorites and major influences on Freaking Out, though if you're expecting nothing but wall-to-wall garage rock obscurities, you'll be surprised, and that's a big part of the fun of this set. Sure, Mondo Topless offer their take on some rare nuggets from the What Nots ("I Ain't Dead Yet"), Open Mind ("Magic Potion"), and the Twilighters ("Nothing Can Bring Me Down"), but they also shake out some classic from the Banana Splits ("Gonna Find Me a Cave") and the Electric Prunes ("Get Me to the World on Time"), and even tackle the brilliantly silly Cream B-side "SWLABR." You might not have pegged Mondo Topless as world music fans, but here they cover a tune from Witch, a rock band from Zambia ("Little Clown") and turn it into a sweetly sad romantic number, while the gently psychedelic title tune was originally cut by Question Mark, a rock combo from Nigeria, and both tracks are a lot wilder and more fun than what you'll find on the typical Putumayo sampler. No one ever accused Camper Van Beethoven of being a garage band, but MT give their "We're a Bad Trip" a welcome kick in the butt, and the wild ride of Sonic's Rendezvous Band's "Asteroid B-612" gets an organ-fueled remake here that's a potent reminder of what the right band can do with a great song. And if covering the Mono Men's "Mystery Girl" or the Vertebrats' "Left in the Dark" doesn't feel as ambitious, as on the rest of this album, Sam Steinig's lead vocals wail and his keyboard follows suit, Kris Alutius' guitar twangs eloquently, and the rhythm section of bassist Scott Rodgers and drummer Steve Thrash hits hard and keeps the engine running smooth. Mondo Topless are several steps up from the typical garage revival band, and Freaking Out makes it clear they have better record collections than most of their peers; this is a set of fine tunes played by a band whose members know what makes them worthwhile, and they have the imagination to give them a new feel without spoiling what makes them memorable in the first place.