The Fleshtones have to be one of the most underrated and underappreciated bands in the history of rock. When they blew out of Brooklyn in the early ’80s with their fresh garage rock sound they released a slew of classic albums (Roman Gods, Hexbreaker) before succumbing to a wilderness period, (which is documented in Joe Bonomo’s excellent bio of the band Sweat: The Story Of The Fleshtones, America’s Garage Band) that lasted from the early ’90s right up until about 2002.

During that time the band suffered through everything a band could suffer through — bad label deals, drug addiction, membership turnover — but they kept at it, refusing to go away, believing that their music would carry them through. Well, a funny thing happened about nine years ago: garage rock came back into vogue and the band looked at these second and third generation garage rock bands, many who were jumping on a bandwagon, and realized they needed to respond in kind. So around that time the band signed with Yep Roc Records and released a slew of alums (Do You Swing?, Beachhead, and Take A Good Look) that ranked among the best of their career.

This was a case wheere the old masters backed up the talk of “showing the young’uns how it’s done” with the energy, verve, and attitude of a much younger band. (Hell, even their Christmas album Stocking Stuffer rips.) Live, they were even better, performing with a renewed sense of enthusiasm putting to shame some of these “johnny-come-lately’s.”

You see, with this band there is no real gimmick and no ironic distance; no ridiculous brother/sister back stories or matching red and white outfits to go along with the music. With them, what you see is what you get, and that’s a ripping, sweaty, energetic, no bullshit garage rock band. This lack or irony or shtick is what I think is lost on the younger generation. There is none, and the hipster crowd can’t handle it. I mean, why admit your dad’s music might actually be better than yours?

So, now it’s time for another new record. Can they maintain the momentum they garnered in the past few years? Well the answer would be yes, but with a few caveats.

First off, this album throws more of a curveball than any past Fleshtones record. It’s made up mostly of covers and instrumentals, with one original thrown in for good measure. Secondly, they brought in Lenny Kaye, legendary guitarist for Patti Smith, and the curator of the original “Nuggets” compilation which helped kickstart the love for everything young, loud, fuzzed-out, and snotty. In a way, it makes sense, since he did help pique people’s interest in garage rock back in the day.

All these moves work wonderfully. The band is in top form and Lenny Kaye’s guitar adds an extra heft to the proceedings. The instrumentals are fuzzed-out mantras of garage rock bliss, especially the band’s cover of the Beatles’ “Day Tripper,” which they turn into a frenetic garage rock tune. The lone vocal original “Bite Of My Soul” features a commanding vocal performance from Peter Zaremba, and showcases their rough-hewn R & B influences. They do two frenetic versions of Ted Taylor’s “You Give Me Nothing To Go On,” one with vocals and one as an instrumental.

This keeps the momentum going. I will say if you like this one, go back and find the two early albums mentioned higher up in this review and then go get the their whole Yep Roc catalogue. You won’t believe what you were missing.

(Yep Roc Records, 449-A Trollingwood Road, Haw River, NC 27258)