The new one from Jacuzzi Boys, Ping Pong, out Friday on Mag Mag Records, is not particularly original in any way. It is, however, full of energy and there's something to be said for that sometimes. Read on.
If "Boys Like Blood" is atrocious -- all Volkswagen TV commercial-style "punk" -- then at least "Refrigeration" bounces along like The Pulsars or The Rentals. "Can't Fight Forever" impressively works up a slight bit of menace in its building hook, while "Strange Exchange" faintly recalls an American version of early Supergrass. At their best, like on the Ash-like "Seventeen", Jacuzzi Works invest this routine material with a lot of spirit and they somehow manage to make this stuff at least marginally catchy.
I tend to only review stuff on this site that I genuinely like and I can't say that I loved Ping Pong by Jacuzzi Boys but at least in spots it was a lot of fun. There's something here and maybe with better material these 3 guys could really deliver something worth raving about. As it is, this is a tentative half-rave at best.
Ping Pong by Jacuzzi Boys is out on Friday via Mag Mag Records. Find more details on Jacuzzi Boys via the band's official website.
[Photo: Dustin Aksland]