The Golden Boys

(12XU)

“I have spent time thinking they were one of the best bands in Austin. I am now thinking they might be the best — period,” AmericanStatesman writer Joe Gross wrote of the Golden Boys earlier this year. His inspiration was partly the band’s often amazing live performances, but also their fifth full-length.

Fiery keys light up the title track; “Didn’t I Tell Ya Babe” is at once funny and oddly heartwarming; the head-on rock ‘n’ roll charge of “Curtains” is hard to beat. another gloomy psych band would be wrong — Holy Wave supplements their keen sense of song with plenty of bright, blissed-out moments. debut album in the spring. As in his other projects, Harris’ drumming stands out, a combination of power and distinct flourishes. “Criminal” creeps along like a grim tale out of lawlessness from the Wild West with foreboding

Rodolfo gonzalez / american-statesman (From left) Crooked Bangs’ Christopher Phillip Gonzalez, drummer, Samantha Wendel, guitar, Leda Ginestra, bass/ vocals