King Tuff has steadily evolved over the past 20 years from a basement-dwelling garage-pop icon of the indie-surf era to gladly embracing the alt-rock movement’s recent migration to the outdoorsy sounds of folk and country. With its album title invoking the pastoral, MOO is the sound of songwriter Kyle Thomas moving back home to Vermont after a stint in LA without losing touch with his inner rocker; in fact, as he points out, there’s plenty of overlap in the simple compositions of his early punk years and the sounds of a more mellowed-out adulthood fueled by country and power pop.
To hear Thomas tell it, his slate of influences for MOO was a selection of artists who could be described as “very punk but also very sweet”—a balance that’s always come through in King Tuff’s discography. He describes himself as a “big softie” under his rocking exterior, pointing to artists like Big Star and Thin Lizzy as predecessors to achieving that dynamic. On a very different tip, he cites the Traveling Wilburys as inspiration purely for the simplicity of the sounds they were able to create as a collective of five distinguished songwriters. “They are basically the best band because it was a project born out of having fun with your friends,” muses Thomas, who’s worked with the likes of SASAMI, Ty Segall, and Angel Olsen himself over the past few years.
With the record out now via King Tuff’s own MUP label, check out each of his influence picks below and stream the full record here.
Traveling Wilburys, “Handle with Care”
I could have really put any Travelling Wilburys song, but this one is just perfect in every way. I love that they just sound like friends making music; they just happen to be some of the best songwriters that ever lived. I love the simple drum beat. They are basically the best band because it was a project born out of having fun with your friends.
Big Star, “September Gurls”
I found myself returning to all my old teenage favorites while making MOO, and Big Star is definitely a big one for me. They have that perfect amount of tenderness in their rock that not a lot of other stuff from that era has.
The Modern Lovers, “Modern World”
This is another big one from my teenage years that’s just fully entwined in my DNA. I must"ve put this song on a hundred mixtapes—and I’m still putting it on mixes here 25 years later!
Doug Sahm, “(Is Anybody Going To) San Antone”
I love this record, Doug Sahm and His Band. It’s country music but it’s also kinda power pop in a way. You can hear my country/folk influences a bit on MOO, I think, mostly on songs like “Crosseyed Critters” or “Backroads.”
Thin Lizzy, “Running Back”
Thin Lizzy is such a perfect band. They’re kinda like Big Star in that they can rock really hard but also have this sweet sensitive side to them. I relate to that, because I’m actually not tuff at all—I’m a big softie!
The Rezillos, “I Can’t Stand My Baby”
Another from my teenage punk years. You can hear this influence the most on my bass playing in “Oil Change.”
Roger Miller, “My Uncle Used to Love Me but She Died”
Definitely another country-leaning influence, but more for his crazy lyrics and vocal phrasing and sense of humor. I would love to hear a Roger Miller version of “Crosseyed Critters.”
Led Zeppelin, “Tangerine”
How could I not include Zep on this list? I got really into using a 12-string guitar on MOO, which is kinda instant Zep. You can hear the influence in a lot of the album, but especially “East of Ordinary” and obviously “Stairway to Nowhere.”
Tom Petty, “You Wreck Me”
Tom is the master of simplicity. It’s hard to write simple songs. I really just want to write simple songs that feel good and you can drive around and listen to over and over, and Tom Petty is the epitome of that.
Buzzcocks, “Why Can’t I Touch It?”
Buzzcocks, yet another band that is very punk but also very sweet. This song is an all-timer for me. The bass line definitely influenced the bass playing on “Stairway to Nowhere.”
