The Bombs - Black Butterfly
Record Label: None
Release Date: July 22, 2008
In recent years, garage-rock seems to be making quite a comeback. Bands like the Hives and the White Stripes have had fairly mainstream hits with their simple and erratic music. A problem with these bands is that some of them aren't very accessible. In the White Stripes case, their spastic and unique nature hinders their ability to push through to the next level. Fortunately, the Bombs may have the right sound to push further than most of their genre has. They have a mildly odd sound but have a pop sensibility that most of these other bands don't have.
Much like the White Stripes, they are a male/female duo - however, I feel that they utilize this more. Parts of the record are carried by the voice of Micheal Van London, but many others are taken by both Van London and Rhianon Jones. The use this mostly for choruses or parts where there are no guitars, but they always use it well. At times they sing together and others they rotate, but it adds a little bit of diversity to their music.
The instrumentation, while extremely simple and minimal, is captivating in the way that it is distorted and written. They drums and guitars play off of each other very well, which makes it fun to listen to. At times the drums take the lead and at others the guitar is front and center.
Overall, this Los Angels duo makes simple and entertaining music. It isn’t revolutionary or creative but it succeeds at holding my attention for a half hour, which is something not many bands or things can do. They aren’t going to push garage rock any further than it already has been, but the Bombs can’t hurt it either.
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