King Tuff – King Tuff
Even if this brand of finely tuned garage rock is not entirely groundbreaking, and the infectious vocal hooks on each track are largely some variation on chanting each song's title, there's a woozy charm to this collection from prolific New Orleans musician Kyle 'King Tuff' Thomas – sometime frontman of J Mascis's stoner metal outfit, Witch. It's a rare occurrence that an entire dozen songs of such similar persuasion manage to retain a listener's attention in 2012, but Thomas ensures that each track is punchy, engaging and never outstays its welcome.
No doubt destined to soundtrack a few summer excursions, the sound of King Tuff's brash, poppy, tin-pan guitar jangles are bound to resonate with a certain generation of Scottish hillside fun-time grazers. From the breakneck coos of 21st century anthem Bad Thing to the (tad excessively) sentimental Evergreen, there's a variety of pleasure points waiting to be triggered here.