The Clavinet is an electrophonic keyboard originally designed to play early European folk music – so using it to approximate the full-throttled yowl of an electric guitar is an ambitious task, to say the least. But then, Crash Kings have never been a band to shy away from a challenge. Boston brothers Tony and Mike Beliveau (bass, keyboards) moved out to L.A. and recruited drummer Jason Morris to round out their experiment. The result – hook-laden riffs, protean rhythms and unapologetically catchy melodies. The Clavinet is outfitted with a whammy bar and run through a distortion pedal, so heavy rock fiends will never miss the guitar.

Crash Kings’ debut for Custard/Universal – produced by indie veteran Dave Sardy – is fresh on the shelves. We suggest you make haste and add some clavinet rock to your collection.