Archie Bronson Outfit

Archie Bronson Outfit play dark, garage-inspired indie rock with similarities to label-mates Sons and Daughters and Clinic. The band work a droning, hypnotic rhythm scheme, gleaned by attention paid to the aforementioned artists, no doubt. Their riffs are catchy and visceral, and they brood like seasoned pros — unfortunately, the band’s sexual swagger tends to compromise their potential for creative macabre. Surprisingly, songs like "Kink” and "Dead Funny” ("I am a deep sea diver/I’m gonna dive down on you”) don’t always seem contrived — rather, they call to mind unpleasant images of the warbling limey delivering the lines acting them out in real life. This may have been the band’s artistic mark, but vocalist Sam Windett comes across more like Sting than Iggy Pop — not someone you want to think of as a "freak.” Bronson are frequently caught in an uncomfortable place between botched poetics and stilted sensuality, but if they stopped horsing around and stuck to one end, they could certainly make it work.