Search - Million Dollar Mouth :: The PanicKING

Every musician aspires to do things their own way but very few truly have it in their DNA. The boys and gal in Million Dollar Mouth, on the other hand, have been blessed with the right instincts. Equal parts stoner rock, Brit Pop, punk, and indie, with a pinch of electro thrown in for good measure, MDM gives full vent to every musical impulse in their collective soul, resulting in what Lollipop Magazine calls stylistically kicking the s**t out of The Strokes, while smoking Stone Temple Pilots cigarettes and listening to Marvelous 3. With the panicKING, their second album on Atonal Records, the band s own label, the LA based quintet makes eclecticism and independent thinking respectable and cool again. Lead singer Mike Biscotti was dealing with some personal problems when he wrote the lyrics and music for the panicKING. This project was like a cleansing experience, Mike says. It was a way of maintaining my sanity. That somebody was exorcizing his personal demons becomes quite apparent while listening to songs like Lush, a deceptively upbeat rocker with an instantly memorable chorus that picks through the shards of a shattered relationship. Onefourthree is a post punk masterpiece blending the raw, loose energy of QOTSA with the precision and restraint of Ladytron without missing a beat. And the album opener Big Kiss, according to Performer Magazine, is reason enough alone to grab this album for your collection. But nowhere is MDM s ensemble spirit more evident than on Space Out, which deftly weaves together Mike Wendland s angular guitar licks, Mary S. glamour infused keyboarding, Kris Keane s pummeling, yet sophisticated drumming, and 80 s frenetic basslines to provide the perfect support for Biscotti s tremendous range and inimitable delivery. The panicKING shares the same indie rock spirit as its predecessor, Villains, but it also marks a leap forward for the Los Angeles based quintet. Once word of MDM s brawny, grungy take on Brit Pop and Mike Biscotti s signature warm baritone and dizzying falsettos began to spread among clubgoers, their tracks slowly found its way to radio DJs and rock critics. Ultimately, most of their cuts made the spin list at a number of college stations across the country, which led to CMJ s Top 200 Chart and film placements in the indie psych thriller Dimples and the cult favorite Poker Bustouts, and put the group on their younger fans radar. MDM also found time to write and record an original track for an Urban Outfitters commercial. Amid all the fanfare, MDM quietly earned themselves a nod as one of Music Connection s Hottest Indie Bands. They re also renowned for their tireless gigging, including performances all along the West Coast, the Southwest, and various festivals as far from home as Cincinnati, OH. The group s MySpace and Facebook pages provides an opportunity for fans to chat with the band members, meet other MDM devotees, post messages, and check concert dates. MDM are already in preproduction of their yet unnamed third studio album, and continue posting new and unreleased work as well as live and alternate outtakes on MySpace, so that loyal followers and newcomers alike can listen to the new material over and over. MDM is determined to prove that they are not simply, as KROQ DJ Kat Corbet puts it, a band with impeccable taste and style, but are here to stay, always bringing something refreshingly new to the music table. In the meantime, fans can check out various MDM tracks in numerous TV shows like Kourt and Khloe take Miami, Parental Control and Confessions of a Teen Idol.