The Warlocks

Sometimes one can be anticipate something too much. Expect too much from something so as to nullify anything enjoyable from said thing. Sadly Expectations are like that. The Warlocks have had a long career of playing spacey over driven rock songs. It seems only right that they are signed to Tee Pee records. They've always carried a psychedelic vibe couples with the shoegaze tendencies of My Bloody Valentine. While never fully going on just one route or the other they always managed to make a nice combination of the two.

The record opens with a song that is not as long as it seems that plays with instrumentation and timing and just goes nowhere. Tambourines come in and out of the mix. Guitars part contract and expand and nothing seems to actually happen. This has seemed to become The Warlocks trademark as of late. While previous albums played with both genre sticking points from spacey atmospheres and a strong sense of definition in guitar feedback this has none of that. It seems like the band are trying to define themselves. Sadly trying to define yourself after numerous LPs and years it feels too little too late. The guitars are still a strong point on this record as they control the mix as well as the songs themselves. The vocals do little to take over any song and just float through appearing in spots and floating into the ether later. The bass is truly the surprise feature in these songs as it manages to poke through the guitar waves and truly define certain songs with a genuine heaviness.

The production is clear but lacking any definitive touch. The main focus seems to be the guitars and the mixer was told to keep everything a distant second. Sadly this band being strong and , at one point, truly interesting failed to make a good record. Once again expectations can get the better of you as i was interested to hear what the band had created but was saddened to hear a generally innocuous album that does very little to differentiate the band from their peers or in the listeners ear. Hopefully the more experimental recordings currently on their Myspace are more indicative of their current direction or the direction of their new recordings. Maybe I don’t do nearly enough psychedelic substances to make this recording truly stick. While all of these things may help the band (or my listening experience) this album fails to make an impact. And I shouldn’t have to get messed up to enjoy your album.

5.4 / 10 — Jon E.