Grand Mal – Bad Timing

Red in tooth and claw, Grand Mal’s third album is a raucous, righteous paean to the mythological decadence of their hometown. There are, however, enough kinks in their bourbon-soaked blueprint to deflect charges of artlessness, with the ingeniously ersatz gospel of the title track, for example, recalling Odelay-era Beck. But it’s their dirty, lowdown rock pastiches that truly score, with “First Time Knockout” and “Duty Free” beaming with the glam-kissed exuberance of the New York Dolls. A bona fide blast of ageless, pretension-free rock’n’roll, Bad Timing is the nazz.