Sticks N Stones release debut 7"

Red Light is the first release from Milwaukee three-piece Sticks N Stones. Their name hints at nursery rhymes and bygone eras, though with also bone-breaking implications. Fittingly, they deliver garage rock that is more focused on melodic, mid-60s hooks instead of the distortion-heavy, loud-for-the-sake-of-loud that is sometimes a part of the genre.

"Red Light" starts with crunchy power chords and layered vocals from Paul Kalfahs and Natalie Clark. Kalfahs and Clark harmonize well together and it suits the jangly guitar. The song follows a start-stop, syncopated pattern that emphasizes the chords and gives a dancey feel firmly entrenched in pop.

On side B is "Time Change." Thematically, the song is a nostalgic wax for times gone by, as the band laments how "things just ain't the same/ it's so funny how the times change." With their older set of influences on full display, the content hints at a bygone era, while the lyrics double as a post-relationship analysis about growing apart. It's a verse-chorus-verse structure, with ringing guitar licks in the breakdowns.

The pressing of 500 is available from Dusty Medical Records.