MOO

King Tuff — 2026

“Tape hiss, sharp riffs, and King Tuff sounding alive again.”

Kyle Thomas has been making music as King Tuff out of Burlington, Vermont for nearly two decades. He put out his debut, Was Dead, back in 2008 on a Tascam 388 tape machine in what was clearly a labor of love, and his 2012 self-titled record helped establish him as a genuine force in the garage rock underground. He toured constantly, played in Ty Segall’s band the Muggers, and co-fronted the supergroup WITCH alongside J. Mascis. But somewhere around 2016, Thomas started pulling away from the noisy, wired-up rock thing he was known for. The Other in 2018 and Smalltown Stardust in 2023 were more introspective and mellow, and while both records had their moments, Thomas has admitted he spent every live show just waiting to get to the older songs. So he went back to what works. MOO is his sixth full length, out on his own MUP Records, and it was recorded on that same Tascam 388 that started everything, with his blue Gibson SG, and a clear intent to just make a fun rock record again. The record accomplishes just that as you can hear his full energy behind these tracks. Now with a bit of seasoned veteran road status King Tuff seems settled in with the tape hiss behind him.

This one is a little more stripped down and scratchy in the best way. The tape recording gives everything a warm, slightly worn sound, like the record has already been played a hundred times before you even put it on. The guitar tones are crunchy and direct, the drums hit hard and sit up front in the mix, and the whole thing clocks in at just over 34 minutes. There is nothing overproduced here. I think that rawness is the whole point, and it mostly works. The songs feel quick and immediate, built around riffs that stick without needing any fancy studio treatment. Thomas even got Ty Segall to play drums on a couple of tracks, which says a lot about the kind of company this record keeps.

After spending two albums chasing a softer, more atmospheric direction, MOO swings the pendulum hard the other way. The Other and Smalltown Stardust were not bad records, but they felt disconnected from what made King Tuff such a blast in the first place. MOO picks up closer to where Black Moon Spell left off in 2014, though it is a bit rougher around the edges than that record. The tape recording process also pushes it back toward the spirit of Was Dead, where every sound had to be committed immediately with no digital second guessing. I think that sense of commitment is what gives MOO its energy, even if the songwriting is not quite as sharp across the board as his best work.

If you are already a fan of Ty Segall, Osees, or the whole California garage rock scene, MOO will be an easy sell. Also if you have liked previous records by The Marked Men, Wavves or even 90s indie band Walt Mink, you will find plenty of tracks here for your new playlist. The record does not sound like any one of those acts specifically, but it sits comfortably in that world of fuzzy, tape-damaged classic rock that values feel over precision. Honestly, some of these songs have a Tom Petty vibe to them with Thomas’ nasal, slightly reedy tone which of course gives the record a nice character quality.

“Twisted On A Train” opens the record and sets the tone immediately. It is a four minute burst about eating a weed gummy on an overnight train and spending the whole ride wide awake in the observation car, and it has the kind of weird, restless energy that matches the story. “Invisible Ink” is probably the most immediately catchy song here, a quick two and a half minute foot tapping shot that does not overstay its welcome. “Stairway To Nowhere” is the album’s most fully realized track with a big arena sound that has a longer build and a bit more room. “East Of Ordinary” is also worth highlighting as one of the stronger moments on the second half, where the record tends to settle into a steadier groove.

Thomas is not trying to write anything complicated here, and that works in the album’s favor most of the time. The lyrics are casual and personal, songs about being in love, riding trains, watching bugs, and getting an oil change. “Crosseyed Critters” is legitimately funny in the way only someone who fully commits to a dumb idea can pull it off. The love songs do not lean on clichés too hard, and there is a lived-in quality to how Thomas writes that keeps things from feeling generic. I think where the lyrics are weakest is when they lean too heavily on the mood of a track without giving the words enough of their own weight, but that is a minor complaint on a record that is clearly more interesting.

MOO is not a perfect record, but it is an honest one. Thomas set out to make something that felt alive and immediate, and he pulled it off. The tape sound, the short songs, the straightforward riffs, it all adds up to a record that is genuinely fun to listen to, even if a few tracks blend together by the time you reach the back half. It is short enough that it does not wear out its welcome, and the best moments here are as good as anything he has put out. The one thing holding MOO back from being a full comeback statement is that it occasionally feels steered a little too much towards his classic vibe than a collection of truly great songs. But with Thomas heading out on tour behind this record and clearly reinvigorated, it is worth paying attention to what comes next.