Many of the bands lumped together under broad "garage rock revival" banner don't stay particularly true to the original spirit behind the name. A true garage rock revival band is an essentially conservative concept, attempting to move backward four decades while ignoring pretty much every musical innovation that came after the invention of the Farfisa organ. By that stylistically limiting viewpoint,
the Clutters'
T&C is a remarkably successful garage rock revival album, in the way it so thoroughly commits to the sound of a snarling singer/guitarist, powerhouse organ player, and stomping rhythm section. At first, this sounds like a terrific idea, since opening track "Crack Your Heart" kicks things off with a killer mutation of the standard
Bo Diddley riff and a shaggy start-stop dynamic. But after that powerhouse opener, the energy level stays high while the quality of the songwriting dips noticeably. By the fourth track, "Rock and Roll," the steadily increasing pileup of clichéd lyrics and cookie-cutter riffs will be sending less committed garage rock fans for the eject button. Occasional flashes of higher quality, like the perfect "bum-ba-bum-bum" chorus of "The Untitled One," are encouraging, but overall,
T&C is primarily for the stylistic faithful. ~ Stewart Mason