Stream: The Two Tens, ‘On Repeat’

1
The Two Tens (Photo by Suzi Moon)
The Two Tens (Photo by Suzi Moon)

L.A. duo The Two Tens continue their relentless pursuit of garage-rock perfection — or at least the explosive moments that feel like it — next week when their sophomore album “On Repeat” arrives. Coming a year and a half after their debut “Volume” (a compilation of material from EPs that preceded it), singer-guitarist Adam Bones and drummer-vocalist Rikki Styxx shred and smash like decades of no-frills punk-rockers before them, the DNA of the Ramones and ’70s power-pop in “On Repeat’s” bloodstream and veins bulging on heavier stuff, like the pugilistic “Mean Spirit.” “I went through some major ups and downs in the time we were writing this album,” Bones says, “and I’m pretty sure it shows.” Perhaps surprisingly, three of the songs, including the single “Keeping Hope Alive,” were made in Minneapolis with producer John Fields (the Jonas Brothers, Har Mar Superstar, Miley Cyrus, among others), while the remainder were recorded with producer Bruce Duff and engineer Paul Roessler in L.A. The single and its buoyant chorus sound downright lush next to the minute-long thrasher “Leave Me Behind.” While its punk aesthetic might be an on-again, off-again affair — “There’s something to swing your hips to and something to crowd surf to,” Styxx says — “On Repeat” (coming via Man Della Records) is as hooky as it is concise. Forty minutes, no thumb-sucking.

||| Stream: “On Repeat” and “Keeping Hope Alive”

||| Live: The Two Tens celebrate their album release with a show Aug. 16 at the Satellite, along with Go Betty Go and the Katellas. Tickets.

||| Previously: “Sweet As Pie”