The opening track, I Need More, swaggers in on a primal fuzz-guitar riff that could hold its own against the Cynics' toughest hits. If a guitar could sneer, Gregg Kostelich's kinda does. Seconds later, a second riff enters the picture a prettier, chiming guitar more reminiscent of the '60s folk-rock scene. And for the rest of Spinning Wheel Motel, the Cynics find real magic in the middle ground between those two extremes.  Gehenna is as pretty a song as the Cynics have managed, no sign of a snarl or sneer in the vocal department as Michael Kastelic sighs I'm too old to die young in a bittersweet ballad whose harmonies channel the Byrds as much as Kostelich's jangle. And the rockers rock as much as ever, from the early Who vibe of the album's most infectious pop song, Crawl, to the reckless garage-punk abandon of Rock Club.  Produced by Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders in the land of Iggy and the Stooges, Spinning Wheel Motel is awash in great guitar work. Dig the soaring psychedelic lead in I Need More that unexpectedly gives ways to a flurry of Dick Dale-style tremolo picking. Or those trashy Trust me, this is how Chuck Berry woulda done it bends on Rock Club.  But Kastelic definitely manages to share the spotlight with his longtime bandmate/sparring partner, from the vulnerability he displays on the melancholy folk-rock classic, Circle Arcs and Swirls (where he also contributes a killer harmonica break that may cause flashbacks to the Bluebells) to the psychedelic Zombie Walk, the album's most intriguing track. The menacing groove supplied by latest recruits Angel Kaplan and Pibli Gonzalez effortlessly lives up to that title while Kastelic snarls the lyrics with the attitude of seven Nuggets singers. And speaking of those lyrics, I can't quite decide if his best moment here is when he rhymes I see tomorrow, it makes me tired with I feel elec-tric-al-ly wired or I got this feeling of power/I'm going to creep into your shower. Either way, it's classic stuff. --Ed Masley, Arizona RepublicThe ever-magnificent Cynics long ago blew past the borders of any box marked garage rock. Longtime leaders Michael Kastelic (vocals) and Gregg Kostelich (guitar) have always crafted actual songs, with strong melodies and lyrics that range from witty to angry to poignant and all points in between. In other words, the Cynics aren't revivalists, but traditionalists, with said tradition treated as being as relevant in 2011 as it was in 1966. Spinning Wheel Motel, the band's latest record, is evidence of that - this is the Cynics' best LP since their landmark 1989 slab Rock n Roll. With a cache of tunes strong even by Kastelic/Kostelich standards, the band is at its most versatile here, gracing the grooves with snarling psychedelia (Zombie Walk), jaunty pop (Junk) and, most especially, divine folk rock (Circles, Arcs and Swirls; Bells and Trains; the title track) that reveals just what the Cynics can do with these kind of elegiac melodies. It's heartening to hear the band hit yet another career peak on Spinning Wheel Motel after so many years of service. --Michael Toland, BLURT Online