The Muffs were an American pop punk band based in Southern California, formed in 1991. Led by singer and guitarist Kim Shattuck, the band released four full-length studio albums in the 1990s, as well as numerous singles including "Lucky Guy" and "Sad Tomorrow", and a cover version of "Kids in America". After a long hiatus beginning in 1999, the band released a fifth album in 2004 but thereafter effectively disbanded. Almost a decade later, the three core members of the band reunited and started performing again. Their sixth album, Whoop Dee Doo, was released in 2014.
Kim Shattuck died on October 2, 2019, following a two-year battle with ALS. On that same day, the Muffs confirmed that they had disbanded.[2] Shortly after, the Muffs released their seventh and final album No Holiday.
The band started as a collaboration between guitarists Kim Shattuck and Melanie Vammen, both former members of the 1980s all-female hard rock group, The Pandoras.[3] The Muffs started performing and recording after the addition of bassist Ronnie Barnett and drummer Criss Crass.[3]
Kim Shattuck Madrid Spain, 2009
The Muffs released their initial 7-inch EPs and singles – "New Love" and "Guilty" (1991), and "I Need You" (1992) – on the West Coast independent labels Sub Pop and Sympathy for the Record Industry.[3] Based on the public and critical response to these early releases, the band was signed to Warner Bros. Records.[3] They established a reputation for "straightforward pop punk".[4] In the words of musician and critic Scott Miller, the Muffs had "an uncommon flair for simple, catchy melodies" which, he noted approvingly, were always delivered in "Kim Shattuck's almost comically sneering adolescent rasp".[5]
The band released their self-titled debut album in 1993. Crass left soon after its release, and drummer Jim Laspesa filled in during the subsequent tour, with Roy McDonald (formerly of Redd Kross) taking over the position permanently in 1994.[3] By the time the tour was over, Vammen had decided to leave the group as well, eventually joining The Leaving Trains.[3]
As a trio of Shattuck, Barnett, and McDonald, The Muffs recorded their second album, Blonder and Blonder. It was released on Warner's subsidiary Reprise Records in 1995.[3][6] The album included the college radio hit single, "Sad Tomorrow".
Towards the end of 1999, the group went on hiatus, and didn't create any new material for five years. Their fifth album, Really Really Happy, was released in 2004.[3] It presents a distinct departure from the Muffs' signature style, with many of the songs sounding softer than previous work, "mellower" and "definitely happier".[8]
In 2012, the Muffs appeared at the "Girls Got Rhythm" fest in St. Paul, Minnesota, along with Ronnie Spector, The 5.6.7.8's, Nikki Corvette and L'Assassins.[9] Shattuck credited former member Laspesa as being instrumental in bringing about the reunion of Barnett, McDonald, and herself.[10]
The Muffs' first album in a decade, Whoop Dee Doo, was released by Burger Records in July 2014.[4][10] Shattuck wrote all 12 songs, and handled production and engineering of almost the entire album.[10]
As conveyed by its self-deprecating title, Whoop Dee Doo was a return to form for the Muffs.[11] Its sound is "rough with punk edges", and it keeps a "heavy emphasis on humor and brevity".[12] A positive review of the album on Pitchfork notes: "They haven't slowed down or softened their attack, or lost their way with tune-construction. Even Shattuck's voice remains barely touched by time... There is scarcely a more consistent band in all of American pop-punk".[13]
Lead singer Kim Shattuck died on October 2, 2019, after a two-year battle with ALS.[14] On October 18, 2019, The Muffs released their final album No Holiday, which comprises tracks spanning the beginnings of the band in 1991 to 2017.[15]
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