Lo-fi garage rock comes with a series easy observations; with it’s simple melodies it’s an easily accessible aesthetic, a sound that can easily be traced back to 60s surf influences. Chances are fairly high that if you’ve heard one lo-fi garage-surf band, which you will have done if you were paying any attention to music in 2010, then you’ve heard something similar to Miami band Jacuzzi Boys.
With the group’s debut with label Hardly Art, “Glazin’”, the trio reinforce the garage oriented-stereotype, churning out ten songs that fit right in with any end of summer playlist. Charming but indistinguishable, carelessly crafted and effortlessly produced, there’s no love-hate dispatch when listening to “Glazin’” or any of the group’s previous efforts.
It’s hard to knock any group that manages to tread through those menial margins, but at the same time it’s hard to applaud one that doesn’t push any of it forward. The album’s highest ends never go too much further from the most sedated ones, mixed with flashes of glam and spark, but nothing too far from the album’s easy to get to core.
Straight line shots at the overall effort aside, there are a few slashing moments that make “Glazin’” a bit more of a triumph, like “Silver Sphere”, which manages to force out a heavier punch than the album’s other tracks. Unfortunately, “Glazin’” doesn’t spare too many of those moments.
The beauty of lo-fi is almost purely visceral. From Jacuzzi Boys’ well-regarded live shows it’s easy to see that “Glazin’” is more of a piece to push the band forward, rather than outside of their comfort zone. Stream the album here.
