Acts such as The Stooges, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed and Daniel Johnston have influenced a modern day revival of garage, lo-fi, indie, punk stuff. Jay Reatard along with the Black Lips are the most well known of the current generation but it’s happening all over the place. There’s King Khan & The BBQ Show, Vivian Girls, No Age and much more. Well; good news! If you missed the train the first time around, there’s a relatively new group named Harlem out of Austin, Texas and they’re pickin’ up some serious speed.
Harlem uses aurally pleasing harmony (think Pixies) unlike many of their contemporaries over their finger-bleeding riffs and punch-you-in-the-nose drums. What I really love about them is their cassette-tape sound and their feel. It’s a hard thing to describe but sometimes you can just tell, even on a recording, that the band was just having an absurd amount of fun while in the studio. I picture a couple of dudes, perhaps armed with mustaches, drinking cheap beer and sleeping in random places. What’s more fun then that?
Their first LP, Free Drugs ;-), on Female Fantasy Records is short and sweet. From start to finish their loose sound and emphatic singing continues growing on you. The louder the better with this band so get your headphones out ladies and gentlemen and crank that shit UP!!
Fabric Magazine
Fabric Magazine
