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Like a mouth-watering carrot cake covered in frosting from a dog's ass, it's hard to enjoy Dangerous Magical Noise, the latest album from the "kings of garage rock who also happen to hate garage rock." That is, unless you like garage rock. Even though the kings of garage rock shouldn't be lumped in with all the other garage rock. Confused? Don't be – it's just garage rock. Only more.

Led by Mick Collins, the guitarist and Detroit native who touted the garage sound with The Gories back in an era known as "tha day," The Dirtbombs are also best recognized for their garage rock tendencies. Though the hi-fi attempt to stay lo-fi is one of The Dirtbombs' most distinguishing qualities, it's almost insulting and restricting to the band's tight combination of Motown-inspired vocal melodies and punk rock swagger. Collins' vocal work on tracks like "Sun is Shining," "Motor City Baby" and "Earthquake Heart" proudly salutes the forefathers of R&B, and his so-sloppy-it's-incredible guitar work at the end of "Thunder in the Sky" further solidifies his incredible knack to create something out of nothing.

But it's hard not to wonder how well the band's multi-genre talents would project without the overly abrasive production. Yes, The Dirtbombs are known for their trademark garage sound, but there are classic influences on Dangerous Magical Noise that are so much more timeless than the production style that's now being used by everyone and their grandmothers. The feel and the ability are both there, no question, and neither of those will suffer from a slightly more tolerable listening experience. And considering the album also included the track "Stuck in Thee Garage" – a glove-slap across the cheeks of the baby groups riding the garage rock trend – it's hard to side with The Dirtbombs when Dangerous Magical Noise sonically makes no effort to distance itself from today's garage rock wave, regardless of who was there first. Sure, it's like telling Andrew "Dice" Clay to stop telling those witty nursery rhymes of his or asking the local mullethead not to yell "Skynyrd!" in the middle of the bar every three minutes, but it would be interesting to see The Dirtbombs divert from the garage sound – even for just one song. Garage rock is just a fad, after all, isn't it? - Erik Fong