Sweatmaster

In addition to having one of the funnier new band names around, this Finnish spazz rock trio also rock some of the catchier songs in today's nu garage scene. Sweatmaster deals in the same tom tom-heavy stop/start pounders that fellow Scandinavians the Hives made a household/dorm room name in the last few years with a slightly more jangle-y new wave edge. The production falls a little short of the Hives' big hit album, but like most of these Nordic rock bands the sound is still really nice without being laidback or overproduced. The 12 songs blend together with little variation, but who wants a ballad when you're having an all-night boozed-up dance party? Apparently Alan McGee (the guy who broke the Hives) has jumped on these guys too and particularly their standout single "I Am A Demon And I Love Rock And Roll." The weird thing is that "I Am A Demon" sounds so much like a cover that it's hard to just sit there and enjoy it without trying to figure out which artist it sounds like/is a cover of.