When you can wield a riff properly, you can do endless amounts with rock ‘n’ roll’s basic ingredients. Taipei Houston are so good at it they can manage with just bass, drums and vocals and still sound like they could carve a groove into the Earth. Elastically bending around one another, brothers Layne (bass/vocals) and Myles (drums) Ulrich (yes, of the Danish tennis and metal drumming dynasty) have the same dynamic swing as Fu Manchu or Clutch, with the scrappy garage-rock energy of The White Stripes. It’s a potent, electrifying concoction. Once Bit Never Bored tumbles past in a frenzy of one-two bass licks, perfectly locked in step with Myles’ liquid rhythms. As The Sun Sets is a full-one stoner groover, all bluesy dirt and low-end glory, while Hypocrite add...
