In 2002, garage rock was in the midst of a revival. There was no shortage of buzz bands who soon became dollar bin finds, following in the footsteps of all the “The” bands. The Willowz happened to be one of those bands and, like their peers, they never became huge. Fast forward to 2010 and a new buzz band was making waves, albeit anonymously — Cults. When that band’s members revealed their faces and went on tour, the leader of the Willowz, Richie Follin, lent them his guitar skills, as Cults is the main project of his sister Madeline Follin.

Inspired by Cult’s looking back approach, Richie Follin started a new band called Guards. After releasing singles for a couple years, Guards released their debut album, In Guards We Trust, this past February on Partisan Records. Guards take inspiration from Cults’ slick soundtrack-ready sound, but make it more full-bodied and in-your-face. Take “Ready To Go,” the band’s single. The simple song sounds wide open, like driving down a desert highway, but then the shouted chorus brings everything back down to Earth.

Guards play tonight with Best Coast and Lovely Bad Things at 9:30 Club. Tickets are $20.