Forty Fives

Remember garage rock? Not the pappy crap being peddled on mainstream rock radio, the kind of music that was the by-product of the unmitigated joy at just playing with a bunch of friends and rocking out. The Forty-Fives remember. Packed with more bounce and energy than should be legal for any single record, High Life High Volume is a true rock rarity in that its an indie/garage rock record that bears none of the earmarks of competent professionalism currently flooding the airwaves. On High Life, guitarist Bryan Malone, bassist Mark McMurtry, keyboardist Trey Tidwell and drummer Adam Renshaw churn out no less than 11 molten Motor City garage pop classics that are heavy on the hooks and light on the clichés. At times incorporating horns, female backup vocals and hand claps, the band leaves no stone unturned in their search for the ultimate danceable rock song. As well, every track oozes the dangerous, bad boy sentiment that characterised Nuggets classics from the ’60s (scan "Go Ahead And Shout,” "Daddy Rolling Stone,” and "Junkfood Heaven,” for an idea). To say that the Forty-Fives could fit in with the current wave of homogenised garage bands would be doing them a disservice, but calling them throwbacks isn’t accurate either. The band possesses one element that’s largely missing among their peers: fun. God knows how the Forty-Fives rediscovered the path to rock’n’roll bliss, but it’s impossible not to notice that this wasn’t a record made with dollar signs in mind. It is incredibly gratifying when other bands in their peer group have denigrated indie rock being just another ulcer in the stomach of the mainstream rock machine. The Forty-Fives are indie rock’s best cure for heartburn.