One does not judge a new Brad Marino album on its sense of innovation or experimentation. In fact, I’d probably be disappointed if he started doing something completely different. The line between Ramonescore and power pop isn’t long, but it offers plenty of space to rock and roll for Marino. Let’s say he doesn’t need all the letters of the alphabet to write a book worth reading. And right now, few artists write garage power pop as reliably great as this legend. And so, one judges a Brad Marino album by the quality of the songwriting and the execution. It delivers on both fronts.

One 30-minute ride through Agents of Chaos, and it’s such a fan-pleasing record it’s almost refreshing. Here’s an artist who knows what he is and what he isn’t, playing the music he loves and giving his fans what they crave. Whereas some of his recent stuff was characterized by downstrokes and fast beats (that Ramonescore-infested Basement Beat was pretty great, eh?), Agents of Chaos contains some of the best tunes Marino has written so far. Like Voodoo, which is a lock for his eventual greatest hits. Other favorites are the poppy Lost Without You, and the power pop ‘n’ roll hits Calling Your Bluff and Regard, the latter coming with some harmonica action I didn’t know I wanted.

And so, the man has done it again, creating some of the best garage power pop of today and making it sound effortless, together with his trusted crew of likeminded souls and limbs including Bobby Davis, Dave Strong, Gene Champagne, Zack Sprague, Ron Mullens, James Cap Nunn, and his wife Caity Marino.

LP available through Spaghetti Town Records, Beluga, and Ghost Highway.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Spaghetty Town Records || Beluga || Ghost Highway