The Defrosting Of

Sounding more like they emerged from a greasy Detroit garage than the European élan of Montreal, Demon’s Claws have released several records of brutish, untamed rock ’n’ roll borne of ‘60s garage punk, psychedelia, and rockabilly. On The Defrosting Of, vocalist Jeff Clarke trades in his sandpapered yowl for a classic, ‘60s-tinged delivery: “Catch Her By The Tail” and “Trip To The Clinic” evoke the frontmen for bands like the Remains and the Seeds, and Clarke’s fondness for Mick Jagger-goes-country is clear on songs like “Weird Ways” and “Annie Lou.”  Reverb and vintage murk are still key elements, but there’s less of it, which is both good and bad: the buzzing, punky guitars of “At The Disco” cut with a sharper edge, and you can actually hear the jabbing synths on that track and “All Three Eyes,” which may have been buried on past efforts. Some fans may miss the bruising once delivered by tracks like “Fed From Her Hand” and “Last Time at the Pool,” but they still pack a wallop, and “Laser Beams” is pretty much an old fashioned Claws mess o’ fun.