Tuesday, March 06, 2012

The Jackets - Way Out


The Jackets are a modern, Swiss garage combo comprised of Jackie Brutsche on guitar & vocals (and Alice Cooper makeup), Samuel Schmidiger on bass/vocals and my old LA pal (and ex-member of the Foot Foot Three as well as the Get Lost and many more), Chris Rosales on drums/vocals. They have a cool, distinctive look with simple matching outfits (and Jackie’s sexy/spooky style) and a rockin’ fuzz-driven sound. Jackie’s vocals range from sultry to screaming and her guitar uses different effects and riffs to form a retro tone with nods to many of the major 60’s groups (everyone from the Count V to the Sonics to Richard & the Young Lions to the Wailers, whose “Hang Up” they cover here). Chris & Samuel give a solid, hard-hitting backing with hip harmonies and the three work as a solid and powerful unit.

Jackie is masculinely aggressive is her sound & manner (she even goes by Jack Torera at times) and she gives any male garage rockers more than a run for their money – slashing chords, wild fuzz licks, well-written tunes, growls a-plenty and a unique onstage persona.

This is a terrific slab of retro garage that could easily have fit in with the best of the 80’s groups – if that is your thang, the Jackets are your band! Get it!

See their excellent video for "Freak Out" here!