Surgery
One of the few bands to give neo-psychedelia a good name, this Los Angeles-based band, have lifted the veil a little on their fuzzed-out Jesus and Mary Chain drones that colored their earlier two albums, cutting down some of the excessive white noise and equally excessive track lengths in an effort to be--dare we say--a little more accessible to the casual fan. But perhaps that careful editing of the Warlock's confused and messy muse had everything do with the fact that the band employed Tim Rothrock (Beck, Badly Drawn Boy) to man the boards on their third offering--and to his extreme credit, Rothrock has been able to streamline the Warlock's rare and idiosyncratic genius. Their odd occult hybrid of the Walkman, the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and the Shangri-La's produces brainy esoteric and unapologetic music that forces fans to wade through psychic lethargy, ennui, and abject depression--to get to the other side. But in that distant musical shore lays true enlightenment. Singer Bobby Hecksher doesn't shy away from telling the truth, whether it be his former druggy past, ("Come Save Us" "Bleed Without You Babe,") or the aftermath of crippling heartbreak ("Like Surgery"), or even living without hope ("Suicide Note"). But whatever the malaise, the Warlocks have prevailed with their strange, rude magic, continuing to cast a spell on listeners.-- Jaan Uhelszki