Had Tough Age been stomping around during the late-60s explosion of garage-rock fever infiltrating the underground music scene in America, their name would have most likely been scribbled on some checklist when Jac Holzman and Lenny Kaye sat down to assemble the groundbreaking Nuggets compilation. Although technically a Canadian band, the Vancouver quartet’s self-titled debut teems with classic American spirit and the bubblegum-wadded bomp and snarl of the first-wave pioneers.

But while the majority of the songs do their share of navigating through the agitation and seediness of garage-rock flair, there’s also an unmistakable push towards modern day pop-punk during the pogo-frenzied romp of “Dream Date” or the giddy pop bumble of “I Waste Too Much Time on Myself.” It’s not as off-putting as the Warped Tour’s more disinfected machismo, but it lacks balls and may wear on the avid garage-rock nut over time. So too is the case with “Coffin Foam.” It’s a standardized appropriation of the classic punk cover, “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone,” with sing-song choruses and a jangly catchiness that is about as digestible as the Sex Pistols covering Bread.

While Tough Age’s preference to lean heavy on polishing up punk’s trashy sloppiness can be quite aggravating, the album is not a complete loss. “We’re Both to Blame” is all 1-2-3-4 in its two-minute blast of Ramones-rattled urgency, while “Cocaine Voucher” is pure slapdash, speed-freak rock & roll. “Sea of White” recalls the fuzzed muss of the Easybeats, with a Big Muffed guitar lead that is charred to the bone, while “Have You Seen Her” follows up in a pop-tilted mash of reverb and distortion.

Unfortunately, the problem that continues to plague today’s garage-rock scene is not so much its delivery as it is its originality. If that’s your thing, then you get what you paid for. There’s absolutely no crime in succumbing to the genre’s fuzz-damaged direction. However, if you tend to think outside of garage rock’s limitations, you may find yourself disappointed in Tough Age’s pop-heavy embracing on this album.