The Heatseekers

From the first label with brains enough to sign bandaged Canuck hitmakers Hot Hot Heat comes another potential monster- Florida's own Heatseekers. I know man, Florida. Old people and death metal. Well, forget all that, ya provincial bully, because rising outta the swamps (or the air conditioned strip malls, wherever) is a swanky new sound, one fulla rattlesnake bluster and black leather attitude and the kinda shameless danceability that drives yr girlfriend to distraction. Granted, garage rock is all the rage these daze ,and this does make me think of that one commercial with the college jerks vandalizing the laundromat, but just cuz it's popular don't mean it ain't good- and the Heatseekers, baby, are more then good- they're about this fuckin' close to outright goddamn fabulous. "In Praise of" is pure sweat and swagger, with riffs constructed by old scraps of Sonics and New York Dolls and Ramones riffs, all shook up and feeling friendly. It's got hooks galore, testifying vocals, a haughty snarl or two, and the unmistakable stench of sex and Saturday night. The Mummies-fied surfpunkin' instromental "Creep Along With X Ray" is a standout, as is it's very Swedish-sounding cock n roll follow-up, "New (Old) Sound", but really, finding a bad track on here ain't easy. If the garage rock trend continues for another 6 months, then yr least favorite loud mouth DJ is gonna be shoving these cats down yr throat every ten minutes by summertime, but for now, freak freely and indulge often, because the Heatseekers know how to really tear it up. And yeah, I know I just indulged their smart-assness by praising the band that named their record "In Praise of", but what the hell. Sometimes a plan just falls together perfectly. - www.sleazegrinder.com

The Revival of Garage rock was a pleasant feeling for me. Finally, some ballsy rock was being made, unfortunately some bands got more recognition for it than others. The Heatseekers are a band that definitely compare to a band whom I love greatly, The Mooney Suzuki.

The Heatseekers don't hold back and just rock out like they should. Spread throughout the release a few short instrumentals, which help tie the album together. Garage Rock always sounds cool when it's instrumental.
Every member of the band contributes with vocals and back up vocals. It reminds me of a more ballsy version of the Selby Tigers, another garage-esque band who I love.
The best track on this highly underrated album would be The Strangler. With high pitched guitars, an ample amount of drums, kickass lyrics, this song just blows me away.

One of the cooler tracks is the last song on the album, which is a cover, the song Brand New Year by the Stuns was covered and done well. It just encompasses all the aspects of what garage is. Crunchy guitars, heavy bass lines. It's a solid song.

This CD surprised the hell out of me. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I'm picky when it comes to garage rock, and this definitely is a rocking disc.


Reviewed by: Chris Buehler
Reviewed on: February 3, 2004
- www.lifeinabungalo.com