Glazin'

Audio Mixers: Jessica Ruffins; Bill Skibbe.
Recording information: Key Club Recording Co., Benton Harbor, MI (03/2011).
Jacuzzi Boys' rollicking, good-natured approach to the popular garage-punk-surf-noise musical thread that ran through the early 2010s like a stampede of skinny jeaned, large-framed-glasses wearing wild buffalo sets them apart from the rest. So does the songwriting prowess on display throughout their second album, Glazin'. It's filled with singalong tunes with big hooks given a sneaky power by the low-budget clarity of the recording and the straightforward punch of the music. The Florida trio has a tough and wiry sound inspired by the classic chord progressions of the best power pop, the snarly attitude of pop-punk, and at its heart, good old rock & roll simple and true. The simple guitar-bass-drums template (with only the occasional cameo from keys) is mostly unencumbered by reverb and tight enough to get a danceable groove going from time to time, and while nothing too flashy happens, the album is always full of fun and crackling energy. The cheerful whine of Gabriel Alcala's vocals gives the songs an extra pop; he has the perfect snotty-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside croon that originated with rockabilly cats like Gene Vincent, gained strength with Joey Ramone, and has remained a very convincing approach to the present day. Add it all up and you have a record that sounds as sunny and sweet as a summer day with the transistor radio blasting, as spunky as a room full of eight year olds, and as much fun as rock & roll can be. Cue up the title track, the muscular "Cool Vapors," the acoustic bubblegum ballad "Koo Koo with You," or the bounce and hook of "Crush," and you'll see just how good Jacuzzi Boys (and Glazin') are. Head of the class, leader of the pack good, and you won't hear many rock & roll records better than this in 2011. ~ Tim Sendra