Goblin Shark Rat Bone CD
Garage is in a tough position, having gone through revivals too many times to count, and frankly it is difficult for it not to sound somewhat stale when not trying to do something altogether singular. With that preamble in mind, sorry to say, this doesn’t quite refresh the genre to my ears. There’s plenty of energy and songcraft on display, plus a sort of gonzo theatrical edge, but rather than the anarchic roots of the genre, what we get here is something a little safe despite all its best efforts to seem wild and dangerous. Partly to blame is the production, with the vocals way up front and sounding like BEEFHEART sucked on a lozenge. Everything else is a little too compressed, the fuzz a little too trimmed. There are good moments to be sure, like the licks in “Human Fountain” that harken to the guitar work in underground legends like GROUNDHOGS. But even then, it feels these moments come from reference points across time and not from some wellspring of true rock’n’roll inspiration.