46. The Willowz

Sympathy for the Record Industry

The second disc from these O.C. kids is a sweet-and-sour cocktail of buzz-saw guitars, Stooges propulsion and coed sloganeering -- not to mention the rare garage-rock album that was actually recorded in a garage. Barnburners like "Cons and Tricks" set catchy choruses over a minimalist rush of sloppy grooves and guitars, and after blasting through twenty cuts in just under an hour, singer-bassist Jessica Reynoza intones, "We can die now." Not so -- they need only catch their breath.

Next: Wide Right, Sleeping on the Couch