Mad Ones

Mad Ones' debut album, Behaviour, was a pleasant, if repetitive, slice of boozed-fuelled rock'n'roll. But on the Toronto two-piece's latest, five-track EP Burning Window, guitarist Andrew DeVillers and drummer Phil Wilson have found their groove. Opener "Face of Love" is hands down the best thing the young band have produced yet. The new laidback pacing mirrors the leap the Black Keys made once they realized that sitting on the groove could be even more effective than just rocking. The following tracks don't reach the opener's anthemic heights, but are nonetheless effective examples of how to do crunchy, garage-tinged rock'n'roll right. There are a growing number of pretension-free bands like this in Toronto — a positive sign amongst a sea of over-earnest, self-serious indie rockers — and Mad Ones are slowly climbing to the top of that heap.