When Seattle’s legendary ’60s noiseniks The Sonics refused to reform for a local garage-band fest in June 2000, Minus 5’s Scott McCaughey made the next best thing: an all-star tribute band. Roping in three-quarters of Mudhoney, along with Monkeywrench’s Tom Price and Girl Trouble’s Bill Henderson, The New Strychnines went down a firestorm. Now comes the album: 16 prime slices of Sonics brawn (“The Witch”,”Boss Hoss”, “Psycho” et al) delivered with suitably murderous aplomb. A blast maybe but, better still, track down the real thing: Big Beat’s magnificent Psycho-Sonic reissue.
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