Please pardon my lack of creativity. This past weekend, I found myself positively charmed by “Strange Magic” the latest release by Boston garage rockers, The Charms (pictured above), on Little Steven’s Wicked Cool Records. Ellie Vee leads the band the band through 12 songs and 35 minutes of sweet and infectious garage rock, power pop, and sixties style girl group sounds with a voice that can alternate between little and innocent to pointed and poisonous. Strange Magic was produced by Detroit’s Jim Diamond, who’s notable for working with just about every garage rock band of consequence this past decade including The Mooney Suzuki, The White Stripes, The Von Bondies, This Moment In Black History, and The Ponys. Additionally, “So, Romantic,” the first single featured from Strange Magic, had the honor of being voted the second coolest song of 2006 by Little Steven’s Underground, months before its release.

MP3:The Charms – So Romantic

On February 20th, The Black Lips will unleash their first album for Vice Records, Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo. The Mexican town of Tijuana is the perfect setting for for these rockers who have made a name for themselves with their debaucherous live shows. If you’ve seen them live, you know what I’m talking about — constant stage action, booze flowing, band make-out sessions, and a crowd going f’n nuts. Oh, and there’s music, a style self-decribed as flower punk: garage rock indebted to the early days, played loose, bouncy, and brisk.

MP3:The Black Lips – Not A Problem

I don’t speak French, but I have a feeling that the name Les Breastfeeders has something to do with people who feed on breasts. It’s a guess. Luckily, you don’t need to speak French to enjoy Les Breastfeeders. The big melodies and bigger guitar riffs on “Viens Avec Moi” were written in the international language, rock and roll.

MP3:Les Breastfeeders – Viens Avec Moi