Kevin Bronson on August 20th, 2010

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Judging from the long, checkered history of L.A. garage-punkers veterans the Morlocks, you wouldn’t think they had a reverential bone in their bodies. When it comes to music, though, they do. They’re keenly aware of the lineage of the music they’ve made for two-plus decades, and on their new album have taken great pains to make the homage just right. On “The Morlocks Play Chess” (out next week on Popantipop), the quintet plunders the Chess Records catalog in the best way possible, bringing their own estimable chops to songs from artists on the historic Chicago label. You’ll recognize the likes of Bo Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf and Chuck Berry. And you might smile at how good they sound.

||| Download: “Killing Floor”

||| Live: The Morlocks celebrate their album release with a show Wednesday at Crazy Girls.

||| Also: Check out Lina Lecaro’s piece in the LA Weekly.