“Detroit Rocks!” barked the NME headline on 11 August 2001; “Is Detroit the new Seattle?” Hmmm, perhaps not as it turned out, but cover stars Jack and Meg did go on to do rather well for themselves and, though contemporaries like The Von Bondies, The Dirtbombs and personal favourites The Detroit Cobras, didn’t have the same impact, the city’s reputation for raw, dive-bar, garage rock was re-ignited.

Fast forward fifteen odd years, and the boy White has returned home to open a branch of Third Man Records and sign up a new set of hard crashing, rock and roll casualties to his label. First to surface are Timmy’s Organism – a lip curling, hip strutting trio of rock rejects with grime on their fretboards and lust in their loins.

More Jack Black than Jack White, frontman Timmy Vulgar is a long-term underground cult institution in Michigan, and stands loud and proud, well aware of his own awesomeness – complete with mighty sideburns, a pin laden, sleeveless denim jacket and a bandana that just about covers his fading hairline.

Unleashing heavy, psychy, Motor City riffs, he declares himself a “snake charmer with golden armour” and tackles a black hearted demon woman on new track ‘Heartless Heathen’, before burning down the place with a storm of guitar shredding glory.

Check out the unholy, acid nightmare of a video, and listen out too for recent Third Man signings Wolf Eyes and Video.

Kevin Irwin
@trotterfist