The Fresh & Onlys

There's something about coming from San Francisco and putting out lo-fi records. Alongside Ty Segall, Nodzzz, Thee Oh Sees and Sic Alps, the Fresh & Onlys hail from the Bay Area and love their beaten-up garage music. And like those bands, this foursome manage to add more greatness in defence of the recent lo-fi surge. Grey-Eyed Girls is their second LP of the year, which might actually end with another on In the Red. Not straying far from their self-titled predecessor, what makes the Fresh & Onlys stand out amongst the other fuzz-lovin' crews is how they're actual songwriters first and foremost. Perhaps it's because some members work at the famed Amoeba Records shop and they've studied the importance of a good song but Grey-Eyed Girls has the framework of classic records like Psychotic Reaction and Heaven Up Here. Yeah, it really does play like Ian McCulloch fronted the Count Five. "Grey-Eyed Girl" sounds right out of a Bunnymen session, with Tim Cohen's baritone and some chiming guitars, while "D.Y." sounds as if Ocean Rain featured a surfboard instead of a dinghy. The fact that the third album is just around the bend shows they have the efficiency to match their proficiency.