The second album from Montreal garage rock wildmen Demon's Claws finds the band making a jump both in fidelity and songcraft. On The Defrosting Of, you can hear each instrument clearly, the vocals sound like they're always sung into a mike instead of just hollered into space, and the drums sound a lot less like trashcan lids. The songs, too, are more clearly structured, drawing from the same garage rock influences with dashes of rockabilly and deep-woods country, but less frantic and unhinged. That's not to say the band is ...
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The second album from Montreal garage rock wildmen Demon's Claws finds the band making a jump both in fidelity and songcraft. On The Defrosting Of, you can hear each instrument clearly, the vocals sound like they're always sung into a mike instead of just hollered into space, and the drums sound a lot less like trashcan lids. The songs, too, are more clearly structured, drawing from the same garage rock influences with dashes of rockabilly and deep-woods country, but less frantic and unhinged. That's not to say the band is any less thrilling or wild; there are plenty of rip-roaring rockers like "All Three Eyes" and "Laser Beams" to make you want to jump around the room like a maniac as singer Jeff Clarke alternately shouts like his pants are on fire and whines like the snottiest Pebbles fanatic on the block. The main difference is that there are more relatively moody, subdued songs this time out; the near-ballad "Trip to the Clinic" is almost even pretty, which is something you'd never imagine after hearing the group's first album. This improved grasp of overall dynamics gives the record some needed depth, making it easier to listen to at times other than when you want some paint stripped off the walls. It's true that fans of the raw insanity of their debut record may a feel a bit letdown at first, but hopefully, the changes the band has made will sink in and they'll be able to recognize just how good a modern garage rock album The Defrosting Of truly is. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi
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