The Creation Essentials

There's something brutal about The Creation's feral take on ‘60s beat-group pop. Graduates of London's R&B clubs, they played with raw intensity (“Biff Bang Pow”) coupled with a very art-school sensibility (“Painter Man”). On top of that, their raw, guttural guitar riffs sound twisted and backward after being attacked with a violin bow (“Making Time”). And while there's evident glee in songs such as “Nightmares” and the freakbeat funk of “Cool Jerk,” their dark heart even makes the blissed-out sounds of proto-psychedelia appear snide and aggressive (“How Does It Feel to Feel”).