The Mistreaters

By Jeremy Saperstein

Some of Milwaukee’s favoritest sons travel off to the eastern metropolis of Detroit City and come back with an audio document that performs the improbable — it’s as raucous as a live show, but offers the tightness of polished radio fare.

Which is not to say that this slab is genteel. Within thirty seconds of the tightly wound intro to “The Other Man” I was feeling my brain slide around in its pan as I rocked my head furiously with the beat. With a short break for the slow bluesy growl of “She’s My Witch”, that’s the way it went for the rest of the disc. Other favorites include the frantically rhyming “Hard On The Eyes” and the high-energy squall of “Brandon Takes It”, which makes me think of any number of other famous Detroit combos.

The Mistreaters might only know three chords, but they know those chords cold. And they understand how to deliver them for maximum impact.

Estrus Records