Album Review: Jeff The Brotherhood - Hypnotic Nights

There'll always be a spot saved in my CD cabinet for fuzzed-out stoner rock. Sonic Youth are in there, The Velvet Underground is in there, hell, even some White Stripes and Regurgitator tunes make the cut. For the past couple of years, JEFF The Brotherhood has taken pride of place alongside these luminaries, and for good reason. Their brand of denim-clad rock'n'roll gnaws at the base of your skull like an incessant mosquito bite, inching its way into your consciousness until you take your air guitar off the rack and play all night long.

Although JEFF The Brotherhood (their capital letters, not mine) has been around for over a decade, the two-piece – real life brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall – didn't break into the alternative mainstream until the release of their fifth album, Heavy Days, in 2009. It was off the back of this frenetic record the Nashville duo toured Australia for the first time (including Meredith in 2010) and garnered a whole bunch of fans.

Hypnotic Nights sees JEFF The Brotherhood take a further step into the mainstream, while balancing the fine line of impressive melody and DIY-punk ethos (Jake plays a three-stringed guitar, for God's sake). This is helped by the brilliant Dan Auerbach, whose deft hand behind the producer's desk has lifted another two-piece, The Black Keys, into the stratosphere in recent times.

With JEFF The Brotherhood getting plenty of airplay, and the band set to play Big Day Out in 2013, Hypnotic Nights and all that comes with it is sure to recruit more fans. I'll be having to set aside even more space in my fuzzed-out stoner rock section, methinks.