It was around two years ago that we were telling you that THE MOONEY SUZUKI were destined to be more popular than The Strokes. Okay, we were a bit wrong. But back then, the Mooney's first album, "People Get Ready," was a breath of fresh (albeit a touch retro) air in the stagnant zeitgeist of the garage rock explosion. A few years on, and the Mooneys have done something that's either going to bring them acclaim or get them laughed off the musical horizon...

The Mooney Suzuki have completed their new album, "Alive and Amplified," with The Matrix at the helm. Yep, THAT Matrix. The first-against-the-wall-when-the-revolution-comes duo that have made Avril Lavigne and Hilary Duff household names.

The record's due out August 10th, and we'll just have to wait and see if the fruits of the collaboration will be worth anything. It's interesting to note, however, that the early press releases regarding the collaboration had the Mooneys being excited and challenged about working with the Top 40-factory that IS The Matrix. However, after a wave of criticism has come forth alluding to one of the most flag-wavingly garage bands in the world seemingly selling out to the commercial sheen of the Matrix, suddenly the band is singing a different tune. Sammy James, Jr., frontman of the Mooneys, is on MTV's website today saying that working with The Matrix was an "aesthetic war," that their record label forced them into it, and that while he proclaims that he loves The Matrix and how nice they are, he affirms that the Mooney Suzuki will NEVER work with them again.

That said, James still feels strongly that the album they churned out is a decent one. Half of the songs were co-written with the Matrix, while the others were written by the Mooney Suzuki alone and handed to The Matrix for tweaking.

All told, this is one soap opera that we'll be keeping our overly-judgmental ears on. Have the Mooney Suzuki made a classic record? Or have they, in fact, sold out to corporate rock? We'll know on August 10th - that's when "Alive and Amplified" hits stores.