Lars Finberg - Tinnitus Tonight (2020)

Lars Finberg, old warrior of the California garage rock scene, is back with a new solo work. In 2017 he released “Moonlight Over Bakersfield”, a nice album that moved a little further away from what Finberg does with The Intelligence. Sure, still garage rock, but much more agile and experimental.

For "Tinnitus Tonight" (Vapid Moonlighting / Mtn. St. Mtn) he retired with a trio. The result should be very compact. He relied on old friends. Kaanan Tupper is on the drums, Lauren Mikus plays the keyboard and Chris Woodhouse recorded.

This setting is reflected in the sound in such a way that the record offers very direct garage rock, which allows creative excursions, but is in the tradition of Finberg's previous oeuvre. The exception to this is the fuzzy electro cracker "Satanic Exit", which only turns over to Garage Rock in the last few meters.

Otherwise, Finberg & crew alternate between elegant and compelling rock, which is often crooked but also extremely catchy. It's ambitious, but not too tricky.

In addition to driving ("The Doors"), even shredding ("Public Admirer") numbers, there are countless highlights that do not try much new, but mix the known ingredients perfectly.

“My Prison” grooves so tool, “Burger Queen” is wonderful. "Wild Pilgrims" is cozy and pushing at the same time. It's all really fantastic. It's hard to remember when Finberg was last so good.