The San Francisco punk band Culture Abuse broke up in 2020 for a very specific reason: Singer David Kelling was accused of sexual misconduct with an underage girl. Kelling's former bandmates decided to keep going without him, which can't have been an easy decision, and they started a new band called M.U.T.T. The group released their debut LP Bad To The Bone in 2023, and they followed it with the Dirty Deeds EP last year. Now, M.U.T.T. have a new album on the way, and it's called Toughest Street In Town.
M.U.T.T. recorded Toughest Street In Town with Jack Shirley, the Deafheaven/Jeff Rosenstock collaborator who also produced the band's last two records. The new one supposedly serves as an ode to the rough neighborhood where the band members live. Here's what frontman John Jr. says about the LP: "I don’t fear my neighborhood, I am inspired by it. I find myself thriving in the mayhem. I walk around the blocks at night ’cause I know I can take care of myself. You gotta have a tough presence and a tough mind in order to survive in this part of the city. Some of you couldn’t last a week on my street. Maybe that’s why I love it so much." I'm weirdly happy to learn that there are still rough neighborhoods in San Francisco.
Toughest Street In Town is really more like half an album, since its second side consists entirely of remastered tracks from the Dirty Deeds EP. Lead single "Runnin' With The Devil" is not a Van Halen cover, though I'm sure the title is a reference. All the new songs, in fact, share titles with hard rock classics, which is a fun bit. This particular track is a mean midtempo stomper with some serious Drug Church vibes. Below, check out "Runnin' With The Devil" and the Toughest Street In Town tracklist.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Living After Midnight"
02 "Runnin' With The Devil"
03 "Sweet Emotion"
04 "Toughest Street In Town"
05 Dazed And Confused"
06 "Damaged (2025 remaster)"
07 "SF Is Killing Me (2025 remaster)"
08 "Downtown Boy (2025 Remaster)"
09 "Breaking the Law (2025 Remaster)"
10 "Dirty Deeds (2025 Remaster)"
As for the other "Runnin' With The Devil" — Van Halen's first original single, coincidentally released this week in 1978 — that song is currently being performed live by both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony doing the vocals for the latter. Roth's show at M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, MD last weekend was his first in five years; Hagar added "Runnin' With The Devil" to his Vegas residency setlist a few days later. Maybe Gary Cherone needs to head out on tour and start singing "Runnin' With The Devil," too. He's apparently never sang it before.
Toughest Street In Town is out 6/20 on Quiet Panic.
