It’s funny how a little genre like garage rock has been so subdivided over the past year. An up-and-coming garage band must pass through several tests before they can be verified. Are they bluesy and raw like The White Stripes or raucous drunks like The Vines? Are they pretty boys like The Strokes or do they have the twin-guitar attack of early Television? And, it seems, most music journalists can’t get enough of it.
But we are content to quote that most famous of garage bands and, simply, let it be (that was The Beatles, not The Replacements, sheesh). The Sights will undoubtedly be tagged garage rock, and with due cause. This winsome foursome is from Detroit Rock City and know how to use their fuzz pedals. They wear lots of denim and have bad-ass mutton chops, too. But there is a classic sweep to this band that many in their genre do not possess; many styles merge into one, and suddenly the term “garage rock” is embarrassingly insufficient.
Consider, for instance, the first track off their latest LP Got What We Want. From the reverberating drums of “Don’t Want You Back,” you could mistake The Sights for Guided By Voices. Then come the tambourine shakes and chirpy background voices, and it’s Phil Spector all over again. Add some whirly organ that would make Billy Preston weep for joy, and you’ve got one heck of a lead track.
Elsewhere on Got What We Want, The Sights turn out classic rock riffs reminiscent of The Who and The Stones, and then give a little taste of the Delta blues. On “It’d Be Nice (To Have You Around),” lead singer Eddie Baranek gets a tad mushy singing to his gal, but it’s a welcome sentiment of young love. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
The best thing about The Sights is their seemingly limitless list of influences and the way they meld them into something new and invigorating.
Though the band has flown largely under the radar in their home country, The Sights were the toast of England not too long ago, enjoying a successful European tour and the praise of the British music press.
The Sights will be playing alongside The Datsuns, another garage revival band from New Zealand. Local punk group Sullen will open the show.
The show will take place on Wednesday, April 2 at The Galaxy. Interested parties are advised to buy their tickets in advance–this one is almost sure to sell out quickly.
