Brian Mathusek started The Mutineers in 2006 to reduce his songwriting to its barest essentials: lyrical stories and melodies that beg to be sung. His music recalls memories of folk songs from days gone by, when singing was effortless, fun, and inclusive—but now his voice is laced with a modern, sarcastic wit. When Michael Astudillo joined the effort on the acoustic guitar, Mathusek grabbed the electric, and they began to add harmony to their rugged, stripped-down style. After recording The Mutineers EP in 2007, the duo took their act from their home base in Santa Barbara, Calif. up to San Francisco and Portland, Ore. They soon added Merry Young on bass drum, percussion and vocals. These new additions have turned the once-lone voice of The Mutineers into a complete, if unconventional, trio that thrives on the three-part harmonies of their distinct voices. The result is pure, heartfelt, mug-swinging, sweet-and-sour, foot-stomping folk-rock.

The Mutineers open their latest EP Tidal Wave with three voices defiantly pleading for unity in a chaotic world, crying out for cooperative individualism, asking you to believe in the inevitability of justice as you sing and stomp along. The final track, punk-infused Heartland USA, turns it all on its head, warning of our own culpability in this modern mess, encouraging the audience to look inside for answers as Mathusek tells the all-too familiar story of unprovoked violence in this country of golden promises. Duality is the essence of the analytical anti-pop muckraking that is The Mutineers. Even on highway anthems like California and Roadkill there is a pensive social commentary under the surface: Never believe exactly what you see; do not accept permanence.

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