The Ugly Beats "Take a Stand with the Ugly Beats"

If you liked “The Go” – who I reviewed last week, you’ll also love The Ugly Beats. This Austin, TX based garage band nails the early Kinks and let’s loose with tons of new Nuggets that would fit with any 60’s inspired collection. Oh those riffs! It starts off with the tune “Take A Stand” with plenty of mod flavor. It continues with the excellent “Bring her down” and “Million Dollar Man” which mines the sound made popular by the early 60’s Who and the Easybeats. If you go for this sound, The Ugly Beats are a “must have” group with great guitar work, and unfortunately for Rainbow Quartz, they are only available on Get Hip Records. “I’m gonna break her heart” reminds me of another similar current favorite – The Gripweeds. “Action Plus” is an awesome instrumental, that is catchy as it is retro. Unlike the Go or The Asteriod Four and other garage revival bands, the vocals are not rough and scratchy, but melodic and clean-sounding, like Colin Blunstone of the Zombies. I do not expect a cover of “Louie Louie” anytime soon, however “Let me through” comes off like a Troggs update. This is a great album for a summer drive and has no filler – even the mid-tempo “Ain’t that old” has a little early Dylan vibe with that farfisa organ.

Ugly Beats Website | MySpace | Get Hip Records