The world is jumping into 2010, but old garage rock habits still die hard. San Francisco’s The Fresh & Onlys keep things simple on their self-titled debut; concentrating on rock’s bare necessities. It’s like a buffet: The dishes are simple, but there’s a lot of diversity.

When the opening, Feelings in My Heart kicks into gear, the psychedelic nostalgia is almost too much to handle. Singer Tim Cohen’s crooning vocals are complimented by lumbering drums and airy organ chords, and the song’s balladry is only overshadowed by its playfully conniving grin. It’s hard to tell if The Fresh & Onlys can be trusted. The furiously fast Peacock and Wing wears a post-punk pathos on its sleeve. Front man Cohen—formerly of the band Black Fiction—pulls together some of his most endearing lyrics: “You should really be my fresh and only / You’d have a smile on your face that I could always see only.”

For the most part this album is like a garage rock bomb going off between the ears. Nuclear Disaster brings a harsh set of unregretful lyrics, proclaiming “the sooner it’s over, the louder the laughter.” It’s a funny twist to a horrible fate, but continuous harmonica interludes make this bitter pill easy to swallow. There are so many thematic shifts in the lyrics. From imaginary friends to lust, few stones go unturned.

This album’s character and underlying themes are defined by is its blistering, fuzzbox sound. Anyone unfamiliar with low-fidelity music may be in for a rough ride. Tinny, reverbed guitar chords engulf the mix in nearly every song, but it’s nothing to shun. For The Fresh & Onlys, making psychedelic garage rock is part performance and part production. This album may not feature the latest and greatest in studio technology, but it brings a unique energy to the table. This album wouldn’t sound nearly as rough, wild, and dangerous if it were given a crystal clear recording; this applies to any band that’s channeling the long copied music of the sixties.

The Fresh & Onlys have made a solid debut, here. It’s not the sweetest candy to hit the shelf, but it is good for you. The classic sounds of psych rock are coming back in a big way, and The Fresh & Onlys are just one brick in an ever-growing wall of bands: Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Ganglians and the Mantles, are all bands that reach for a similar update of rocks most revered incarnation.

Though it’s important to think about the future, the Fresh and Onlys’ album proves that rock’s simplest tendencies are still its most true; or at least The Fresh & Onlys make it sound that way.