Primitive Sounds for a Modern World

Primitive Sounds for a Modern World

With 2013’s Primitive Sounds for a Modern World, the ever-prolific Jonny Manak and the backing band The Depressives kick out a generous 14 jams—half of which were recorded at his home studio, Cup O’ Pizza, while the remaining were tracked live on Northern California junior college radio station KFJC. Both the opening “Wah-Bam!” and “Ride the Barrel (And Get Pitted)” are hard-throttled garage punk tunes that hilariously muse on viral video surfer Micah “So Pitted” Peasley. In “Harts and Hands,” Manak cleverly namechecks some of his immediate musical influences, like Black Flag, Chuck Berry, Link Wray, Circle Jerks, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wayne Kramer, and The Ramones. Similar to the man’s energetically show-stopping performances, the live portion of Primitive Sounds plays like a best-of compilation. The Jello Biafra–inspired “1.21 Jiggawatts” references Back to the Future with riff-heavy punk ‘n’ roll before “Rebound Town” nicknames Manak’s hometown of San Jose for its incestuous scenester trappings. Bending '50s rock ‘n’ roll with '60s garage and '70s punk, Manak has forged an infectious sound that’s equally familiar and original.

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