So long as men and women feel disaffected or heartbroken and there is blood plasma to sell to pay for instruments, the underground rock scene will always be with us. It's a fertile ground for young folks to exorcise their internal demons while slashing out barre chords or beating out cavestomp rhythms. Besides, there's just something so primordial and liberating about the raw sound of straight up, no frills rock as both fan and player.

Not convinced? Take a listen to Low Times and you'll see what I mean.

This trio of rockers cite any number of influences for their surf trash/garage bash sound (The Ramones, Tyvek, and the 13th Floor Elevators are the names that come up most often), but the core of their sound comes down to this: "It's all about fun for us."

Even without them saying so, it wouldn't take long for you to pick up on that when listening to the San Antonio, Texas band's music or seeing them play live. This is a group of young men that loves the hell out of being around each other and playing music together.

That essence soars out of Low Times' newest effort, the Low Times/Eets Feats 7” (Eets Feets shares two members with Low Times). This short collection not only sounds better than anything they've recorded in the year that the band has been together—it was produced and mastered by guitarist/vocalist Erik Camacho and drummer Michael Goodwin—but it's also their most assured batch of songs yet.

The swaggering "I Don't Belong" and the tense "Oh, There's No Way Out" rumble with the authority of vintage Headcoats or the sexy bravado of Thee Oh Sees, and showcase the crackling chemistry between Camacho, Goodwin and bassist Robert Martinez.

Now that the band has shared stages around Texas with folks like Heavy Cream, JEFF The Brotherhood, and The Greenhornes, they are ready to take on the rest of the country and are looking to play house shows or the kind of nontraditional venues that often make for the most fun live experiences (think: art galleries, coffee shops, arcades, and the like).

Beyond that, Low Times is going to stick to their simple mantra: "write, record, perform; write, record, perform." Sounds like the perfect formula for rock 'n' roll domination to me.