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Rating:
THE REVIEW
This is something else! A band with two guitarists, a bassist, a lovely girl on keyboards (mostly a '70s organ), a singer, and... two drummers playing simultaneously!!! 100% psychedelic rock.
Endless whirlwinds of riffs, never-ending songs, tribal rhythms, instruments that seem like they'll play forever, and a ton of smoke in a room where the band members play with their heads down.
This record is exactly what I expected from so many bands that later disappointed my musical fantasies, retreating elsewhere. There are songs (like Hurricane Heart Attack) reminiscent of Jesus And Mary Chain but without much plagiarism: many distortions and a voice tainted by an apparently raw sound (meticulously crafted, in truth), others have insane outros that bring to mind the more inspired Doors (think of the tail of The End, or something from L.A. Woman).
The singer's voice, in some instances, resembles that of Richard Ashcroft (like in Red Rooster), but that doesn’t bother at all. In short, you’ve probably already realized this is an album you can’t just play at any time of day: it’s quite heavy and needs to be digested very slowly. But it’s truly beautiful.
It's the best part of A Northern Soul or the missing piece of Take Them On On Your Own: foggy meditations on drugs, love, and solitude within a whirlwind that leaves the listener confused at the first listen. From the second listen onward... nothing changes; there’s always a sense of labyrinthine complexity reigning supreme. The single, Baby Blue, doesn't fully reflect the potential of the entire LP, whereas songs like Isolation or The Dope Feels Good redeem its entire worth.
The challenge will come now, to confirm all the great expectations with a second album that doesn’t throw the first one in the trash. Every reference is purely intentional to all the other new rock bands of today.
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Summary by Bot
Phoenix by The Warlocks is a textured psychedelic rock album featuring dual drummers and layered guitars. It channels influences from classic bands while maintaining originality. The album is heavy and immersive, rewarding slow, repeated listens. Key tracks like Isolation and The Dope Feels Good showcase its depth, going beyond the single Baby Blue. The reviewer expresses high hopes for the band’s future releases.Tracklist Lyrics
03 Baby Blue (03:52)
Pretty pictures and circular cars
Disco bars and cool guitars
You're making me wake up
You're making me sleepy
For the things that are running loose
I'm wasting my time with you,
my baby, baby blue
I'm wasting my time with you,
my baby, baby, blue
Cocaine parties and blow on keyboards
Make-out sessions and those slow jams
I do it discreetly, I gotta get up and
watch TV with no will to live.
I'm wasting my time with you,
my baby, baby blue
I'm wasting my time with you,
my baby, baby blue
I hate it when you're totally boring
and everything's alright and young and threatening
It's easy riding to the blues hotel
you're making my heart ache, my stomach swell
I'm wasting my time with you,
my baby, baby blue
I'm wasting my time with you,
my baby, baby blue
I'm wasting my time with you,
my baby, baby blue
I'm wasting my time with you,
my baby, baby blue.
The Warlocks
The Warlocks are an American neo-psychedelic rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1998 by singer/guitarist Bobby Hecksher. Known for dense, hypnotic drones, multiple drummers, and organ-smeared textures, they emerged with Rise and Fall and Phoenix and continued with Surgery, Heavy Deavy Skull Lover, The Mirror Explodes, Skull Worship, and Songs From The Pale Eclipse.04 Reviews
