When it comes to music from South Florida, all of the big names are either Gloria Estefan or rappers. Who's got time for rock 'n' roll when you've got a region full of people constantly blasting the trap-rap bangers of Rick Ross, dancing in the street to the Latin-tinged hip-hop of Pitbull or jiggling their mammoth badonks to the booty bass of 2 Live Crew?
The answer to that question is Jacuzzi Boys, Miami's leading garage-pop trio. They've got nothing but time for rockin', rollin' and related activities. The Boys started generating momentum with an early flurry of seven-inch singles. But really, it was No Seasons, their debut full-length on Orlando garage-slash-punk label Florida's Dying, that catapulted them out of the swamp and into broader American consciousness. These days, the Boys have a new label (Sub Pop imprint Hardly Art) and a new LP (Glazin') and something tells us their consciousness expansion program is set to explode.
But the Jacuzzi Boys won't really "melt your face off" or "blow your mind." Instead, their particular take on the garage template involves slightly surfy riffage, a danceable tempo and a slickly retro (though not gratuitously reverbed) tone.