Distortion Felix

Few bands ever manage to convey their sound in their name, opting, instead, for a handle that can be made into a cool logo on album covers and T-shirts. But, super-fuzzy L.A.-based trio Distortion Felix couldn't be more appropriately named, short of dropping the Felix. Bringing together elements of dissonant dirge rock and '60s pop, with a backdrop of thundering grooves, this ten-track disc, the band's second, is more dangerous than Tool and dirtier than Kyuss. From the opening SST-inspired squeal of “Instant Phaser,” to the anarchistic Butthole Surfers meets the Archies pop of “Green Armymen,” to the searing drive of “Blast Off,” Distortion Felix challenge all acceptable uses of the distortion pedal. A scorcher of an album with the pea soup density of a heavy Los Angeles smog.