Wilmington, NC’s Museum Mouth has signed to Rory Records, Max Bemis of Say Anything’s imprint within Equal Vision Records.
Museum Mouth offers a unique blend of lo-fi indie rock with grungy pop undertones, and is comprised of vocalist/drummer Karl Kuehn, guitarist Graham High, and bassist Kory Urban.
“Museum Mouth is a game-changing band for me as a fan of punk and indie rock,” declares Max. “The mixture of “actually mature” humor and self-deprecation with cathartic, forward thinking energy and sonic choices, makes them a great band to represent a generation of smart kids with complex feelings that need to be addressed, but don’t want to be bored to tears in doing so. Karl as a songwriter and frontman is as unique as any I’ve come across and listening to this band makes me want to just dance my heart out. Add this to the fact that Karl is among a very rare breed of punk rock frontmen to unapologetically defy the sexual stereotype of the sullen, whiny heterosexual male, and I think it’s easy to see why I had to sign this band and recommend them to any listener who craves music that’s authentic, immediate and brilliant.”
To date, Museum Mouth has released three full-length albums: Alex I Am Nothing (2014), Sexy But Not Happy (2012), and Tears In My Beer (2010), and two EPs: U R WHO U LET DIE (2012), and I Am The Idiot Of The Jungle (2010). The band’s extensive discography is available for ‘pay what you want’ right now via museummouth.bandcamp.com and their recently released music video for “Sacred”, from Alex I Am Nothing, can be seen at Youtube.com/ilovemuseummouth.
Of their past albums Karl shares, “I really believe in them A LOT. All our past releases were written and recorded by US in my dad’s basement (or random bedrooms and bathrooms in various towns across NC) through an ancient version of GarageBand on a MacBook that was ACTUALLY falling apart, and I think all the time and hard work that went into them really shows. I think that’s a testament to the fact that we were never writing songs in the hopes of “blowing up” either, we were writing, recording, and releasing them ourselves (and most of them for free) because it was super fun and we WANTED TO.”
On Alex I Am Nothing, Museum Mouth showcases lust and longing by specifically taking on the concept of being obsessed with someone you can’t have, offering equal parts of desperation, self-doubt—and charm. Alex I Am Nothing’s diary-like presentation of lyrics shows off an unabashed sense of vulnerability and honesty, paired with raw, blown-out instrumentations and distorted guitars. Karl’s charisma soars through songs as he screams and pleads through missteps, regret, fear, heartache, and the all-encompassing rush (and crush) of chasing after a relationship. The sincerity and depth of his emotion emanates freely and welcomely from start to finish, ultimately leaving the listener feeling like they’re hanging out with and listening to their best friend attempt to sort out their life.
“I just want people to be able to relate to our music,” shares Karl. “This band is mostly me complaining and venting so I guess it’d be nice to know that I’m not the only one making myself crazy over straight crushes and overthinking everything.”
Graham adds, “No matter how hard it is to get outside of your own head, you’re not alone. You’re as neurotic and fucked up as everyone else and we’re gonna get through this miserable shit. Just look at Karl. He’s dealing with it all by yelling what he’s feeling over the noisiest combination of guitar, bass, and drums.”
Museum Mouth has shared stages with the likes of Diarrhea Planet, Pity Sex, Bomb the Music Industry!, Creative Adult, Elvis Depressedly and Eternal Summers and have performed at FEST, Hopscotch, Reverb Fest and more. The band is currently writing for their next album and has also just announced a second pressing of Alex I Am Nothing, which will be a coke bottle clear with blue swirl vinyl and limited to 300, and a cassette version of Sexy But Not Happy that is limited to 100 tapes. Both releases are being offered through Self Aware Records.
