Alive Records, 2007

Garage rock is an anomaly in that it actually benefits from two typically negative qualities: mediocre musicianship and poor production quality. That said, it seems that the genre has come to be defined by it. Without the abrasive production of their debut album, would the Strokes have been considered successors to the Velvet Underground and Stooges? Their subsequent releases haven’t fared nearly as well without the rough edges.

Working under this method, Brimstone Howl have release Guts of Steel. Being that it was co-produced and engineered by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, you could guess as to the content and you would be correct in doing so. This album is filled with a dozen scuzzed out blues-based rockers; none of which is more than about three and half minutes in length.

“Bad Seed” kicks things into gear from the start with Nick Waggoner laying down a riff that would not be out of place on any Black Keys or early White Stripes album. John Ziegler’s vocals sound as though they are filtered through a transistor radio, a common technique in this genre. It is effective in many respects but can come off as a crutch with overuse.

“Luck of the Spade” along with “Six and Seven” bring to mind Exile era Stones or the New York Dolls. “Cyclone Boy” is a fierce fist-pumper that cuts like vintage Dead Boys. Filled with piss and vinegar, it rocks and rolls in all the right places.

In the end, you have to wonder if the songs would be as strong without the formulaic techniques so common to “garage rock”. Each track, although strong enough in many respects, sound derivative and repetitive when listening to in succession. After the third or fourth song, you begin to lose interest. Still, there is enough here to show a great deal of promise.