Record Label: Burning Heart/Epitaph
Genre: Garage
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

Epitaph has already introduced the States to now-huge garage acts like The Hives and the International Noise Conspiracy. Now meet Randy, who combine the best aspects of those two bands and fall somewhere in the middle.

This Swedish/Finnish/Nordic (whatever) band has that fuzzy modernized Kinks-meets-Who sound, very similar to the Hives, but with a much harder edge in music and attitude. But they’re not as punky or political (or annoying) as INC, so it’s a nice balance. Plus, Randy plays up the 70s rock more than the other two bands – for example, “Cheap Thrills” sounds like Bon Scott-era AC/DC; “Dirty Tricks” and the title track are a mix between the Undertones and Sex Pistols (but you can also hear hints of Motorhead, Cheap Trick, and Dead Kennedys in their music). If you’re a fan of this sound, or secretly a fan but can’t bring yourself to listen to the Hives, you should check Randy out.

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