The Muslims

By Nick Stefanovich; photo by Claire Acosta

An L.A. blogger once said that The Muslims could never be elected for president.

Consisting of vocalist/guitarist Matt Lampkin, lead guitarist Matty McLoughlin, bassist David Lantzman and drummer Brian Hill, this San Diego-born quartet has drawn a considerable amount of buzz on music blogs for its name — as well as its catchy post-punk sound.

Citing The Replacements, The Fall, The B-52s and funk and soul in the style of Sly Stone as some of their musical inspirations, while crediting songwriters like Jonathan Richman and Beck as lyrical influences, The Muslims’ cavalier sound is ultimately an extension of themselves — what it would sound like to hang out with the band, according to McLoughlin. “We can’t copy shit, we aren’t that good. So this is what we sound like,” he says. “We like things that are simple and clever. Not necessarily songs that are overcrafted,” Lampkin adds.

While its members had known each other in some capacity before the band officially formed, The Muslims started playing music together just a year and a half ago, in January of 2007. The band’s popularity has grown considerably this last year since its highly talked and blogged about set at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival in March, which saw many touting the group’s unabashed, ramshackle rock ‘n’ roll set as “the act SXSW attendees should have seen.” Overnight, the band’s music was making the rounds on the internet, with the popular website Stereogum calling them a “band to watch.”

Not ones to play it safe in any capacity — sound, name or approach — The Muslims aren’t too concerned with any backlash in the “blogs giveth, blogs taketh away” world. “Things picked up after Austin, but it wasn’t like people were freaking out while we were playing or that we played in front of a lot of people,” Lampkin says. “It was like, ‘Cool, that was a lot of fun, let’s go home.’” On the topic of blog hype Lampkin adds, “If it comes and goes, that’s expected. That’s how it works. The point isn’t to strike it rich and sign to a major, necessarily.” In fact, the band experienced a bit of the aforementioned backlash after three of its members relocated to Los Angeles, stirring up quite a bit of heat in the San Diego blogosphere.

“For about a month, people on blogs would anonymously say that we’d get lost in the shuffle [of L.A. bands],” Lampkin says. “But anyone who knows us knows that we weren’t coming up to L.A. to make it. We didn’t think this band would go beyond two shows.” As they acclimate to the new city, gigging as much as they can while holding down day jobs, The Muslims remain very connected to the San Diego music community that birthed them, acknowledging that some of their most memorable shows happened while playing house parties at locals’ houses. “We’ll always be from San Diego,” Lantzman sums up.

With plans to release a live album recorded during a recent show at San Diego club The Casbah, a self-titled 12-inch and 7-inch single out now, their first major U.S. tour behind them and the goal of eventually touring Europe, The Muslims are truly proving —what’s in a name? A little controversy never hurt anyone.

www.myspace.com/themuslims