The accepted wisdom among those who coin music genres is that there are basic, agreed-upon principles for how each category should sound. For instance, ‘DIY’ should be lo-fi and imperfect, whilst ‘garage rock’ should sound raw and energetic. Well, raw is one thing, but undercooked is quite another. Similarly, DIY is always good if the basic structure stays on the wall. Get these wrong, and you’re gonna find your trousers around your ankles, needing a helluva lot of filler…

This brings us to the third album from the Californian trio, L.A. Witch. DOGGOD finds the band leaving the safety of their So-Cal surroundings and jetting off to Motorbass Studio in Paris, the perfect place to – checks notes – “exude an aura of effortless cool”. The thing is, effortless cool can only carry you so far.

Opener ‘Icicle’ would send shivers up anyone’s spine, with the band sounding unsure and tentative – perhaps due to being away from home in unfamiliar surroundings. ‘I Hunt You Pray’ suffers from the same problem, stretching a drab two-note bassline, lumpen beats and some pretty rustic noodling out to a stodgy six minutes in length. All bun, no banger.

At some point, you would expect the nerves to dissipate, if, that is, nerves are the issue rather than under-worked, under-rehearsed songs played in a slightly shambolic manner. ‘Eyes Of Love’ seems disjointed and lacking in conviction, with unsteady, behind-the-beat-drumming – a constant throughout most of the tracks here – and clanging tempo changes that serve to derail any forward momentum.

Those coming to the album off the back of the band’s two singles – ‘777’ and the title track – would have expected better. Both show the requisite attitude and craft befitting a group three albums deep and revered amongst the dive venues of LA for “the forbidden, the forsaken, and the foreboding”.

Like the bratwursts sold outside Rue de Martyrs Metro station, DOGGOD should have been simmering, seductive and topped with tasty morsels of psych-garage punk. Instead, it offers nothing to sink your teeth into. Pass the mustard.