Strange Boys

The Strange Boys feel like record label In the Red's attempt to fill the hole the Black Lips left when they defected to Vice Records. Like the Lips, Strange Boys dabble in 13th Floor Elevator-style psychedelic blues and garage rock, heavy on reverb, with wavering vocals buried somewhere in the background. And Girls Club sees the Austin, TX natives blast out 16 tracks in 38 minutes. Of course, a blitzkrieg like that is going to create some overlap and despite a strong opening and some clever song titles ("Should Have Shot Paul" and "Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up"), the last ten songs bleed into one long out-of-tune track. The quartet have carved out an identifiable sound but they haven't developed the writing chops or personality (at least on disc) to elevate them beyond the '60s garage revival margins.