On Triple Beams

Detroit, Mich., has a long history as a gritty breeding ground for rock, from the Stooges and MC5 to Alice Cooper and later The Gories. Not to mention being home to Motown and Creem Magazine. While the Motor City isn’t the shining beacon of American industrialization it once was, and its population has plummeted by almost half since the 1960s, Detroit does still kick out the jams. Over the past three years Tyvek have kept the spirit of their hometown alive and well with lo-fi recordings that feel as much a part of Detroit’s landscape as the Ambassador Bridge. On Triple Beams is another no-nonsense batch of garage rock bolstered by first-person accounts that are more bitter than sweet. On the anthemic stomper “Wayne County Roads” frontman Kevin Boyer barks, “Friends that I hold so dear, it’s sad to report / Not hardly one soul around to defend the fort.” Big choruses take songs like “Little Richard” and “Say Yeah” from the gutter to the arena without forgetting where they came from. Sure there are a lot of bands playing similar music these days, but Tyvek are one of the few to walk the walk.