Ears Wide Open: Jet Trash

Kevin Bronson on May 9th, 2017

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“There’s about a million garage bands running around San Francisco these days.” That was written about Jet Trash before the quartet moved to Los Angeles, where there are about 2 million garage bands running around. Or amok. Metaphorically speaking, though, Jet Trash occupy a bigger garage. Their sound, as reminiscent of old-schoolers like the Sonics as it is fresh-faced kids like FIDLAR, quivers with outsized hooks and thunderous rhythms, all of which are on display on the new EP “Shake,” their third, which arrives Friday. As the band — singer-guitarist Paul Kemp, singer-bassist Marshall Fassino, lead guitarist Keith Shughrou and new drummer Eric Peters — point out in their introduction, listeners can connect the new EP to other songs that shook: Big Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle & Roll,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On” or Otis Redding’s “Shake.” Yes, the perils of derivativeness apply, but in this era, a raw ’n’ real sound trumps the often-quixotic quest for originality. Plus, they have concise, razor-sharp songs, captured in their grainy glory by producer Alex Newport (At the Drive-In, the Mars Volta, Death Cab for Cutie, Bloc Party) at New Monkey Studios, Elliott Smith’s old digs in Van Nuys. Combined, the three songs revealed from the EP so far don’t top 7 minutes. Ready, set, go.

||| Stream: “Shake,” “Black Widow” and “I Don’t Wanna Know”