On their fourth album, the Northwest based former surf-rockers extricate themselves completely from the reverb-laden instrumental rock waters that grounded their early sound. They now prefer to ride the waves of grungy American garage punk instead, a move they had been shifting toward on their last release. The results are pretty much what you'd expect: loud, brash, trashy guitar/organ-fueled rock with roots in early
Paul Revere,
the Standells,
the Sonics, and
Mitch Ryder. Like fellow revisionists
the Chesterfield Kings,
the Lyres, and
the Original Sins, the
Boss Martians don't add much to their influences, but they dive into the retro genre with energy, guts, and a ton of conviction. Lead singer/guitarist/primary songwriter
Evan Foster makes the most of his soulful pipes, which, along with Nick C.'s Hammond organ, powers these songs that snarl and claw with vicious energy, but won't win any awards for originality. The sound is full and clean, with all four instruments prominent in the mix, yet the effect is still as biting and terse as the most primitively recorded Nuggets group. References to
Pete Townsend's guitar runs and
Ray Manzarek's fiery organ occasionally peek out of the mix, but the lack of covers proves that
Foster wants to make his mark on the genre, albeit within established garage rock boundaries. Songs like "She Moves Me" and the
Who-ish "Put Some Hurt on You," with their volcanic guitar/keyboard interaction, practically explode out of the speakers, partially due to
Johnny Sangster's (
Supersuckers,
the Posies,
Young Fresh Fellows) savvy production. They're not out to change the world, but if they keep releasing albums as strong as
Making the Rounds, the
Boss Martians will at least shake it up for a while. ~ Hal Horowitz