The Fall-Outs

The Fall-Outs' self-titled album settles down a bit from the adrenalized garage of their earlier recordings, and manages something that's rather unique in the nineties garage-revival scene -- they have a level of unironic seriousness that's rather appealing, compared to the sounds of many similar bands. This mainly comes through in the record's reliance on blues-based, Rolling Stones-style rock (as opposed to the "beat-punk" that defines much of the scene) -- the Fall-Outs always have the sound of a wild and over-the-top garage band, but there's a care in the composition and performance of this record that puts a good deal of content behind the style. Fans of the bands' earlier work might be a tad disappointed -- the energy level is a bit lower on Fall-Outs than it was on previous releases -- but there's something about the record that's almost akin to sophistication, which is a rare find in this genre.