In contrast to all of the alterna-rockers who have favored darkly introspective, very serious-minded lyrics, New York City's Morningwood has brought a delightfully trashy and hedonistic sense of fun to alternative pop/rock in the 21st century. Those who are looking for introspection, introspection, and more introspection won't find it from Morningwood, whose melodic yet aggressive material has thrived on hooky infectiousness. Their sound owes something to hard rock, but they are also mindful of punk, new wave, and ... Show more...

In contrast to all of the alterna-rockers who have favored darkly introspective, very serious-minded lyrics, New York City's Morningwood has brought a delightfully trashy and hedonistic sense of fun to alternative pop/rock in the 21st century. Those who are looking for introspection, introspection, and more introspection won't find it from Morningwood, whose melodic yet aggressive material has thrived on hooky infectiousness. Their sound owes something to hard rock, but they are also mindful of punk, new wave, and glam rock. The Big Apple foursome inspires a variety of comparisons, and they range from '80s favorites like the Pretenders, the Divinyls, and former Runaway Joan Jett to Veruca Salt, Garbage, and other alternative pop/rockers who emerged in the '90s. In fact, lead singer Chantal Claret has a colorful, s**y, good-humored approach that brings to mind the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde as well as the Divinyls' Christina Amphlett; other valid comparisons range from Blondie's Debbie Harry to Garbage's Shirley Manson. br /br /The Morningwood profiled in this bio should not be confused with the Swedish band Backdraft, which originally went by Morningwood in the late '90s but had changed their name to Backdraft by 2000 -- the year before the formation of N.Y.C.'s Morningwood, which got together in 2001. That was when Claret joined forces with guitarist Richard Steel (formerly of the band Spacehog), ba**ist Pedro Yanowitz (an ex-member of the Wallflowers), and drummer Japa Keenon O. In 2003, Morningwood recorded their self-titled debut EP, which they released independently on their own Rockhardcock Records label; after that, they released a four-track EP titled It's Tits on Rockhardcock. In 2004, Morningwood could be found working on their first full-length album with veteran Big Apple producer/engineer Jack Douglas, who is known for his work with John Lennon, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Patti Smith, and quite a few others; Morningwood was released in early 2006. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide