In the wake of the garage rock explosion, the congnoscenti might sneer at bands who revel in the pleasures of dirty guitar riffs and hip-shaking rock 'n' roll rhythms. But the truth is, garage rock has been with us consistently since the glory days of The Sonics and the fact that the media and the majors got hold of it in the past few years doesn't change the visceral thrill of well-executed bluesy garage slop. Which gets us to Toronto's Tangiers, who compare favorably to their higher profile peers south of the border, and indeed, do the entire garage rock tradition proud. The basic elements here are no secret: aggressive guitar licks tossed out like pages torn roughly from a book, a big tumbling rhythm section, and raw, sexual, loosely melodic male vocal leads (three band members sing). On a few songs Tangiers throws in some keyboard lines to sweeten the pie, but the sound overall is simple and classic, all about energy and messy fun in the tradition of the Stones and the Dolls. Tangiers' rollicking (and aptly titled) debut album Hot New Spirits came out in 2003 on Sonic Unyon Recordings.