Hey, it's The Smoggers!

"Shame On You"? How about shame on me for not yet reviewing any '60s style garage bands! Or maybe I was just waiting to hear a band play the style as well as The Smoggers do! This Spanish foursome has a new EP out on KOTJ Records, a label run by Óscar from the awesome blog Kick Out The Jams. You know the man's got great taste. If he puts out a record, I want to hear it! Straight and to the point, this is '60s garage music the way it ought to be - combining the primal fury of, say, The Count Five with the dance-inducing energy you'd expect from a first rate party band. Oh, and it was co-produced by the legendary Mike Mariconda! "Shame On You" is classic garage rock right down to the fuzzed-out guitars, squawky Farfisa hooks, ripping guitar leads, and howling vocals. It's textbook sonic fun, and it works because these cats play rock n' roll as if their lives truly depended on it! Whether you're hearing this song in a club or just on your bedroom turntable, you'll just have to get up and dance! In short, The Smoggers have what a lot of neo garage bands don't have: soul. And Side B, I'd say, kicks it up another notch or two. "It's Just Not The Same" is a splendidly punked-up rendition of a new wave obscurity by The Delinquents (Yeah, those Delinquents- Lester Bangs's backing band!). And "Jump Inside" is the fastest and most furious cut on the record - one minute, forty-nine seconds of pure wildfire adrenaline. Drop the needle on this bad boy, and you'll have yourself an instant dance party! The vinyl is limited to just 300 copies, and word has it they're down to the last 100 and going fast. Get on it while the getting's good!



-L.R.

http://kotjrecords.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Smoggers/168631466492498
http://thesmoggers.bandcamp.com/track/shame-on-you