Perpetual Happening

Album review

Rowdy U.K. garage fuzz rockers Thee Exciters take a slight turn away from the fuzz-addled garage of their earlier recordings, drawing on the influence of third-eye-opening late-'60s Texas psych for the tunes on Perpetual Happening. While the album charges out of the gate with the high-octane garage freakout of "Dinosaur Traffic," gears shift quickly and tracks like "I Can Hear Most Everything," "Stuck in a Triangle," and the tripped-out title track all make great use of a clear 13th Floor Elevators influence. Elsewhere on the album hints of punk roots come through, as on the warped "Paint Me," sounding like Mark E. Smith fronting the Standells before the entire mix is doused in phaser and the psychedelic vibes are brought back to the forefront. Thee Exciters wear their pastiche of various classic influences on their sleeve, be it Cramps meet the Kinks on "Killing You" or Television Personalities through a Buzzcocks lens on "Flower Punk Girl." The album is full of electric energy, and the songs are strong. The only drawback is that the intensity of the influences sometimes comes off like impersonations of favorite performers more than loving homage. Through this, Thee Exciters' weirdly daring production makes Perpetual Happening strange and nervous enough to be a creation of their very own.

© Fred Thomas /TiVo