Aural Aggravation

‘On and On’ is the title track from On And On, the 3rd studio album from the post-genre power trio mssv featuring the legendary rhythm team of drummer Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits, Mavis Staples, David Lynch) and bassist mike watt (MINUTEMEN, fIREHOSE, Stooges) alongside the unique and iconoclastic guitar of its genre-bending bandleader, Mike Baggetta.

On And On features brand new songs that were written by Baggetta before their 58-show 2023 US tour and performed every night, recorded and produced by Chris Schlarb at BIG EGO Studio in Long Beach, CA immediately after. The album comes out on BIG EGO Records on 12” LP vinyl, digital download and streaming services on Friday, March 7, 2025 and features artwork by John Herndon (Tortoise). The digital versions feature eight separate, boundary-pushing tracks. The vinyl features these pieces joined with connecting passages into two continuous side-long movements, making for a trippy and experimental listening experience. I hope you’ll consider covering this release with an interview, feature, news story or album review. Feel free to repost this video

Featured in the works on this album is a band-improvised song and, on the vinyl issue only, six more band-improvised interludes. These improvised, then recomposed, instrumentals had their parts recorded separately by each member, then edited down, recombined and recomposed by Baggetta’. They serve as an important connective tissue between the songs on each side, turning On And On into an exciting and trippy psychedelic fever dream of a concept album. This serves to really bring out the story of On And On: at its heart it is an album where all the works combine to create an endless episodic journey through the temporal and seemingly fleeting nature of society, personality, music, and life and death on Earth, only to realize that all of these are also endlessly repeating.

Seven of the eight new songs feature vocals from Baggetta, now much more comfortable in his vocal role from the previous mssv album Human Reaction. The wordcraft heard here in On And On goes a lot deeper than his previous lyric writing, while still remaining wholly individual in its exploratory playfulness. The subject matter here, while being universally relatable, is rife with personal references, stories of his and the band’s friends and relationships, and one song “Despair & Hilarity” including lyrics written by one of Baggetta’s most important musical collaborators Steve Gigante (7 Year Rabbit Cycle, W-S Burn, THETEETHE).

Continuing to explore the seemingly endless depths of Hodges’ and watt’s musicianship and skill over the many tours and albums in mssv has grown an instantly identifiable sound from Baggetta’s songwriting for this band. But the trust that has formed between them, that comes from long-running musical partnerships, has also made it possible for mssv to explore more interesting ways to incorporate improvised music into the lives of their songs, innovating their music in new ways while still keeping the fearless nature of each musician and this band fully intact. On And On skillfully combines all of these elements into a newly evolved lens for the music of mssv, deftly displayed in this album as a high concept love letter to everyday life.

mssv HARU tour

mar 13 – thu – san pedro, ca – the sardine

mar 14 – fri – costa mesa, ca – the wayfarer

mar 15 – sat – joshua tree, ca – giant rock meeting room

mar 16 – sun – phoenix, az – cibo

mar 17 – mon – silver city , nm – whiskey creek zocalo

mar 18 – tue – albuquerque, nm – guild cinema

mar 19 – wed – albuquerque, nm – guild cinema

mar 20 – thu – lubbock, tx – co-opt

mar 21 – fri – oklahoma city, ok – resonant head

mar 22 – sat – dallas, tx – the wild detectives

mar 23 – sun – san antonio – the corn pound

mar 24 – mon – houston, tx – continental club

mar 25 – tue – baton rouge,la – mid-city ballroom

mar 26 – wed – jackson, ms – end of all music

mar 27 – thu – birmingham, al – saturn

mar 28 – fri – tallahassee, fl – the bark

mar 29 – sat – orlando, fl – will’s pub

mar 30 – sun – gainesville, fl – loosey’s 

mar 31 – mon – savannah, ga – el rocko lounge

apr 1 – tue – charlotte, nc – snug harbor

apr 2 – wed – greensboro, nc – flatiron

apr 3 – thu – washington, dc – pearl street

apr 4 – fri – philadelphia, pa – solar myth

apr 5 – sat – Kingston, ny – tubbys

apr 6 – sun – new york, ny – mercury lounge

apr 7 – mon – east providence, ri – myrtle

apr 8 – tue – keene, nh – nova arts

apr 9 – wed – winooski, vt – the monkey house

apr 10 – thu – syracuse / ithaca, ny – TBD

apr 11 – fri – buffalo, ny – mohawk place

apr 12 – sat – pittsburgh, pa – mr smalls funhouse

apr 13 – sun – cleveland, oh – beachland tavern

apr 14 – mon – columbus, oh – ace of cups

apr 15 – tue – Indianapolis, in – state street pub

apr 16 – wed – chicago – hideout

apr 17 – thu – madison, wi – gamma ray

apr 18 – fri – st paul, mn – turf club

apr 19 – sat – iowa city, ia – gabes

apr 20 – sun – kansas city, mo – recordbar

apr 21 – mon – omaha, ne – reverb lounge

apr 22 – tue – wichita, ks – fisch haus

apr 23 – wed – eureka springs, ar – chelsea’s

apr 24 – thu – tulsa, ok – the shrine

apr 25 – fri – amarillo, tx – golden light

apr 26 – sat – Santa Fe, nm – cocoon

apr 27 – sun – flagstaff, az – orpheum theater

apr 28 – mon – las vegas, nv – the griffin

apr 29 – tue – bakersfield, ca – bakersfield sound co.

apr 30 – wed – sacramento, ca – torch club

may 1 – thurs – arcata, ca – miniplex

may 2 – fri – san francisco, ca – bottom of the hill

may 3 – sat – los angeles, ca – zebulon

may 29 – thu – brighton, uk – prince albert

may 30 – fri – ramsgate, uk – ramsgate music hall

may 31 – sat – southampton, uk – suburbia

jun 1 – sun – cardiff, uk – psych & noise fest

jun 2 – mon – liverpool, uk – acoustic room coffee

jun 3 – tue – manchester, uk – gulliver’s

jun 4 – wed – glasgow, uk – òran mór

jun 5 – thu – belfast, uk – voodoo

jun 6 – fri – waterford, ie – bank lane

jun 7 – sat – kilkenny, ie – cleeres

jun 8 – sun – dublin, ie – the grand social

jun 10 – tue – newcastle, uk – cluny 2

jun 11 – wed – hebden bridge, uk – trades club

jun 12 – thu – bristol, uk – exchange

jun 13 – fri – reading, uk – face bar

jun 14 – sat – london, uk – the lexington