Garages – they’re not just for parking cars

The garage is the iconic and literal birthplace of countless bands. Dreams of women, fame and other exotic pleasures are incubated there amidst the hours of strumming and bashing. While most remain stillborn, a lucky few are able to spring forth into the wider world, sometimes leaving no trace of their humble beginnings. The studio and its tools prove too irresistible for most, resulting in slickness and antiseptic trickery.

Those musicians that retain the aesthetic of their origin are sometimes said to be practitioners of “garage rock.” Rough, raw and unpretentious, garage rock disarms as it entertains.

THE REIGNING SOUND hails from Memphis and is led by its singer-guitarist Greg Cartwright. Their sound borrows heavily from classic soul, most evident in Cartwright’s vocals, the guitar-organ interplay and the song structures. But rock and roll passion is their alpha and omega.

Their latest, “LOVE AND CURSES,” is their fifth record, but first in five years. The E-Street Band-like opener, “Brake It,” grabs the attention with organ swells and gnarly guitar chords competing for space with Cartwright’s pleading (but still manly) vocals. “Trash Talk” shows off the band’s dynamic range; the tick-tock opening cadence alternates with a roaring declaration of love’s seamier side. “Call Me” is a blast of yearning lust, while “If I Can’t Come Back” is a plea for reconciliation disguised as a kiss-off.

Other killer cuts are “Broken Things,” propelled by a thumping bass line and compassionate lyrics; “Debris,” a guy at wit’s end with his lover; “Stick Up For Me,” a working man’s fiery directive; and “Love Won’t Leave You a Song,” a truly sad break-up tale (The consolation prize for losing a lover has to be the break-up songs! But wait, this is a break-up song! Oh, the irony.)

The Reigning Sound are a great example of why the search for new music is worth it – nuggets of gold in the cultural stream are there to be had.

Ryan Adams’ backing band (the Cardinals) features the singer-songwriter-guitarist Neal Casal. Casal has a couple of solo albums to his credit (mostly country-tinged affairs), but his side project, HAZY MALAZE, is the ticket for me. Much more polished than the Reigning Sound, they still have the unadorned passion that betrays their garage origins.

He calls it his “soul power trio” and the name is apt. The band just released its third CD, “CONNECTIONS.” Hearing it made me immediately run out and pick up (OK, sit down and click the “download” button) their previous album, “BLACKOUT LOVE.”

Blackout Love’s got the nod if you want to try just one at first. If the tough bluesy riffing of “Thank You in Advance” laid over a scratchy junkanoo beat doesn’t get your heart racing, then stop and abort the mission on the spot. If it does, then you’re in white-boy blue-eyed soul heaven, for the hits keep coming.

“Damage Talking” tells a strung-out friend/lover the truth about the gibberish that gets passed off as wisdom. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Gone” breaks the news that music still lives, and that Casal knows where it is – “I got it right here.” “Soul Gets Lost” could be an O.V. Wright loping blues lament. And “Got My Wings” comes in with a slap to the psyche (in the form of stinging guitar over whip-cracking drums) and then a boast about the lady that’s got the singer so levitated.

“Bust it Down,” “Corrina” and “Dirty Summer” take the intensity level to raunchy heights. “Looking Out for You” takes the mood down to a spookier place, one where one man’s vigilance is another’s stalking. “Everything” takes the set out in fine strutting style, with close harmonies coming in to underscore the message.

With not a dud in sight on this one, Blackout Love is the keeper for the month.

In certain locales, barns are more likely than garages to be the venue for bands cutting their teeth. SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE SKIDS may not have ever stepped foot in either place, but they sure sound like they did. Chapel Hill, N.C., is their home and they know of the culture of which they sing.

Much more than a joke band (there’s plenty of those, for sure), SCOTS are a blast. They incorporate everything that makes the South so cool and infuriating – warmth, sex and food obsessions, laziness, goofiness and a sure sense of life’s cosmic humor. Their music ranges from country to western, from surf guitar to twangy steel, from hillbilly to blues alleys.

And they gave me a title for this month’s column, an excellent tune found on their 2004 record, “MOJO BOX.” But if you want a good starting place for SCOTS with ready-made familiarity you should check out their latest, “COUNTRYPOLITAN FAVORITES,” an all-covers affair. While the musical motifs and vocals stay way over on the country side of the ledger, the song selection, varied arrangements and tempos surprise and delight.

Hence, we get not only expected-but-not-overdone gems like “Rose Garden” and the wickedly-funny ode to couples-swinging, “Let’s Invite Them Over” (originally by George Jones), but also obscure nuggets like the Kinks’ “Muswell Hillbilly” and T. Rex’s “Life’s a Gas.” The Byrds’ “Have You Seen Her Face” gets a lovely reading and the swamp-blues of Slim Harpo’s “Te Ni Nee Ni Nu” cuts through the cornpone. The Who’s “Happy Jack” completes the program with a left-field shot of elation. Fifteen tracks of sheer joy, “Countrypolitan Favorites” is a revelation.

Garages – they’re not just for parking cars any more.