Cheap Perfume

iTunes Review

The Oakland, Calif., retro-rock trio Bare Wires offer up more amazing, streamlined garage with their third studio album, Cheap Perfume. Doing away with the extraneous sounds of preceding albums, they leave a skeletal frame wherein the band’s chemistry solidifies with catchy, bare-bones garage-rock. Frontman and guitar slinger Matthew Melton is a Memphis transplant who deliberately keeps his roots in check—a welcome choice for anyone into the late, great Jay Reatard or Cheap Time. “Don’t Ever Change” sets the stage with a memorable riff played through the warm distortion of pawnshop guitar crunch. The tune takes on a Rock 'n' Roll High School vibe, built on an effortlessly cool T. Rex swagger. “Dirt Beach” features twangy surf guitar and shares some characteristics with Wavves and Ty Segall. Then the title track contrasts hard-chugging guitars, with Melton taking a wistful approach to his vocal performance. “Back on the Road” is another standout with its gang vocals and Arthur Lee–inspired crescendo.