GIVE UP AMERICA by HOWLER (2012, Rough Trade)

They're not original but boy are they good.

Howler are dirty concoction of Phil Spector girl group pop, The Ventures surf guitar and scuzzy garage rock. It's been done a million times before. The Ramones, Jesus & Mary Chain, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The Horrors. Glasvegas. I'm not promising that Howler are particularly innovative but they've got great style and a debut album loaded with tunes.

GIVE UP AMERICA is a warped version of classic america from the re-imagined Lucky Strike logo on the cover to 60s surf guitar pop hooks which get blasted out underneath a wall of grinding garage fuzz and distortion.

From Minneapolis, Minnesota the story goes that their first EP was unbeknownst to to band sent to Rough Trade records in London whose A&R man promptly got straight on a plane at signed them at their very next gig. They've since been hotly tipped by the NME and BBC and toured extensively with The Vaccines. The brilliant 'Back of Your Neck' seems to be getting a lot of plays on 6 Music now too. It sounds like The Shadows on speed, but instead of Cliff Richard fronting the band, it's Iggy.

Front man Jordon Gatesmith promised their debut would be a "dirty rock n roll record" and that's exactly what you have here, musically and lyrically. 'Wailing (Making Out)' tells you everything you need to know about where the band are coming from: "I want a girl and a new car / I want a drink and a guitar / I want to die young as a star / is that so much, is that so far..."

There's plenty Stooges-like garage rock. Beach Sluts begins slowly with twanged guitars and hand claps like an early Beach Boys tunes. It quickly turns into a snarling rocker. 'Pythagorean Fearem' is supercharged and has a sinister gothic edge. 'Black Lagoon' has a great shout-along chorus "B-L-A-C-K-L-A-G-Oooooo-Uh-Ooooooo-N".

GIVE UP AMERICA is a fun, frenetic, fuzzy thirty minutes.

BEACH SLUTS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhRB8gfN3HM 

BACK OF YOUR NECK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swg9X1LcXm8

PYTHAGOREAN FEAREM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1-wBWcldO8