Tough Age
I Get the Feeling Central (Mint)

Singer, guitarist, and comic-book fanatic Jarrett Samson has always shown a predilection for the lowest of fidelities. Even though the eponymous Tough Age debut album was considered hi-fi compared to his work with Korean Gut, it still had that raw energy that comes with recording in a rehearsal space.

I Get the Feeling Central ramps the production value up even further. Captured at Little Red Sounds by Felix Fung (Chains of Love, Dead Ghosts), the sound is so pure on some tracks, it’s hard to continue describing Tough Age as a scuzz-rock act, yet it all works.

Samson’s humorous and introspective songwriting prowess is clearer than ever, while Fung’s lucid production gives the Toronto-Vancouver band’s sound a chance to compete with the big boys.

“Snakes & Ladders” is up there with Pinkerton-era Weezer, “Gutter Lemon” has a vibe like “Hate to Say I Told You So” by the Hives, and “Castigation” could have been on Castlemania by Thee Oh Sees.

The scuzz is still there, though, all over the vintage girl-group lurch rock of “ ‘Walk!’ ” and the GFY attitude of “Guilt”, so don’t go thinking they’ve sold out. Tough Age has simply improved.