I encountered The Scrams from New Mexico first on RadiOblivion. A few days later, I heard the band on The Big Enchilada podcast. Those two samples were enough to get me to check out more of the band. (Aren't podcasts great?)
The album begins with "Exiles," a lo-fi garage (seriously, it sounds like it was recorded in someone's garage...and that's a good thing) romp that includes everything that is great about garage rock: loud drums and guitars, organ, and a tempo that makes you think the band members had a cab waiting when they recorded it. And if it's a breakneck tempo you want, you will love the songs "Magma" and "Steve Sangre." I think there is no way you'll be able to keep still when you hear these songs.
Something about "Officer Touchy" is immediately familiar. As the song progressed, I realized what it was. The delivery of the vocals in this song reminds me a lot of Gaz Coombes of Supergrass. Only not quite as polished.
I'm not sure exactly why, but garage rock bands seem to have some affinity for monsters, aliens, urban legends, and generally spooky themes. The Scrams join in with a song called "La Llorona." The tone of this song definitely fits with the story of a soul condemned to wander the earth in search of the children she drowned. The band also has a song about aliens called "Space Jeeps." If you were making a low-budget sci-fi movie about little green men, this is the sort of song you could use as the theme.
This is not a complex album. If you like loud, raw, uptempo songs less than three minutes long, you will love this self-titled album from The Scrams. And when your friends tell you your music is "weird," just turn this album up to drown them out and tell them there is no room in your collection for Dave Matthews Band. Or whoever they listen to.
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