Artist The Willowz

In music, timing is everything—and look no further than Anaheim soul-punks The Willowz for an illustration of that. The group’s bluesy rumble, topped with Richie James Follin’s nasal yawp, screams “White Stripes Jr.” so loudly that director Michel Gondry used its music in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind when Jack and Meg said no. But that was 2004, when the early-’00s garage-rock revival was already being replaced by electroclash and the like, and The Willowz—though its members were barely drinking age—already looked like also-rans. Fast-forward a few years, however, and time might finally be on its side: The band’s 2009 album, Everyone, adds sunny psych-pop hooks that should find favor with fans of the current garage-rock revival.

Updated 04/07/2010