Pure, unadulterated garage rock—when done properly—can be one of the finest things around. Its beauty lies in its functional simplicity, wherein the nutrients of music are stripped down to their purest, most pleasurable form: motion, shape, tune, groove, and twang. No gluey fat to clog the arteries, no unnecessary garnish to confuse the palate, no confusing ornamentation to distract from the matter at hand.

And, oh yeah, it also rocks.

MP3:
The Muslims - Nightlife

The Muslims, out of San Diego, make that kind of music. It’s goofy and badass at the same time. It’s heroically slackerish, or slouchingly triumphant, if that makes any sense. It’s the kind of music that always makes me excited because it exists out of context, not following any current trends or movements. It sounds like it could have been played in 1968, or 1988, or 2028. It’s all about youthful energy, and by that I don’t really mean it’s about being (or feeling, even if you’re not) young. It just contains that force of life, that momentum, that excitement about things that you like and feel good to you and about which you want to know more. Like that twanging, silvery guitar tone, or that color of light that the air turns at a certain dusky hour, or that girl whose smile you trust implicitly even though you don’t know too much about her.

MP3:
The Muslims - On My Time

The Muslims have a seven song vinyl record out on 1928 Recordings, which also comes packaged with a CD that includes all seven songs, plus 3 extras. So yeah, it’s a 10-song record for all intents and purposes. What’s more, they’re playing tonight at the Hawthorne Theatre, opening for the Night Marchers. They’re going on first, so be certain to get there in time. Meanwhile, listen to more Muslims here, and buy the record—which comes complete with bulletholes shot by a former NYPD cop—here (more tunes there, also).

The Muslims play TONIGHT with the Night Marchers and Red Fang; Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE 39th, 8 pm, $15, ALL AGES