An amped-up garage rock trio with some blues, metal, and rockabilly influences, Amplified Heat debuts with the seriously overdriven In for Sin. Three brothers from Houston led by singer-guitarist Jim Ortiz, Amplified Heat isn’t part of the fashion-conscious brigade of perfectly mussed rocker boys, having more in common with Memphis rockabilly-blues legends Tav Falco’s Panther Burns or even the Reverend Horton Heat’s psychobilly twang. Jim Ortiz’s sore-throat growl of a voice delivers frankly lascivious cars-and-girls lyrics over distorted guitars, Gian Ortiz’s fuzz-tone basslines, and Chris Ortiz’s acrobatic, perfectly overplayed drums, turning slow and bluesy for the extended guitar workout “Just a Junkie” and going for Kiss-style ’70s metal on “Fever,” but most of the album consists of wild-eyed, punky rockers like “Roadrunner” and the title track. – Stewart Mason
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