Mummydogs

Thin White Rope was one of the greatest American rock bands extant in the ’80s and ’90s, and why that underrated Davis quartet isn’t worshipped with the fervor accorded to far lesser bands remains one of life’s mysteries. Guy Kyser, whose slithering reptilian bellow and ripsaw guitar were focal points in the Rope’s sonic attack, recently emerged, after a long dormant period, with Mummydogs, an X-like four-piece that features his wife Johanna (ex-Thornucopia) on vocals and keys, along with Cary Rodda on bass and Paul Takushi on drums. The band’s debut features 10 originals and three well-chosen covers of tunes by Johnny Thunders, Skip James and Hot Chocolate—whose disco-era “Put Your Love in Me” is particularly dark. Kyser still can write a good twisted Western yarn, too, and there are several here—“Dark Green Car,” “Pearl” and “Red Bandana,” which nicks “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” A very welcome return.