3rd March 2010

Audio with 14 plays with 3 notes

Splinters - Splintered Bridges
Kick (Double Negative)

Coming out of the Bay Area, The Splinters are making fun garage pop that sounds like the Coathangers, if they had better singers … and musicians…

Now, obviously, that’s part of the appeal of the Coathangers, but the Splinters manage to keep things fun without sloppiness, perhaps only because the music is so simple.  As far as garage stuff goes, this record is actually pretty cleanly played.  The guitars are jangling with just a bit of fuzz growing out of the riffs, the bass is overdriven but not overwhelming, and the gang vocals make the whole thing sound like a sing-a-long with your favorite group of friends.

The later cuts on the record are a bit more interesting, I think, starting from “Sorry,” a stripped down conversational tune that starts off quite simple, with light guitar, drums, and vocals, and as the cut goes on, more voices join in, along with another guitar, and some more percussion as well.  ”Electricity” rocks in a bit of a modal feel, using some awesome half-steps in the vocals to add some darker tone to the whole piece.  But I think my favorite cut is “Splintered Bridges,” ‘cause it hits the riff just right.  Check it out at the top of this piece.

Kick comes out March 9th on Double Negative Records.

Tagged: stuck in thee garage