Altered Zones

It's a damn fine year for garage here in 2011. There are already a couple of great artists on the table like Night Beats and The People's Temple, and albums from Mikal Cronin and Jacuzzi Boys are just around the corner. And now, on the heels of Castle Face's bountiful Group Flex Vol. 1 compilation, Bare Wires' latest is in the running for the year's most fun. Matthew Melton has been an RSTB fixture for years with Snake Flower 2 and earlier incarnations of Bare Wires; now, with the addition of Maybe Baby's Tennant McCabe on bass and Apache frontman Omar Hernandez on drums, the band have entered their most exciting period yet. Following their "Don't Ever Change" single, Melton and the boys have cranked out a potent mix of garage swagger and power-pop crunch that always seems to go down right. Bare Wires are at their best when the drums pound heavy in your ears and they crack the sugar-and-sweat vibe of the best Yellow Pills period. "Cheap Perfume"'s only fault is that once its short runtime ends you want to swing the stylus right back to the beginning. --Andy French, Raven Sings the Blues

MP3: Bare Wires: "Cheap Perfume"

Cheap Perfume LP is available soon from Southpaw Records