Catheters

This third full-length effort from the Catheters goes to show that fans of gritty, snarling garage punk need not mine the fjords of Sweden for the rhythmic good stuff. On Howling… It Grows and Grows!!!, the Seattle-based band continues to pay its sonic respects to legendary Pacific Northwest groups like the Sonics and, to an even greater extent, reformed rawk gods Mudhoney, with whom the Catheters have shared more than a few stages since their last studio outing. Hopefully, for the Catheters’ sake, that kinship between the two bands continues long enough for the junior unit to pick up on Mudhoney’s penchant for mixing things up a little. Despite the infectious energy and exemplary guitar work on display here, the Catheters could benefit from switching gears once in a while, rather than howling along (it goes and goes) at pretty much the same tempo and to remarkably similar arrangements.