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The Warlocks are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1998 by the guitarist/singer Bobby Hecksher. The band's music has ranged from psychedelic rock to drone music. There have been many changes in personnel since its formation, with Hecksher the only constant member.

History

Formation and signing to Bomp!

The band was founded in 1998 in Los Angeles by Bobby Hecksher, adopting a name used by both the Velvet Underground and the Grateful Dead in their early days. At the age of fifteen, Hecksher moved to Los Angeles from Florida with his family. Hecksher's first instrument was cello, eventually moving on to bass guitar. Hecksher's grandfather owned a radio station.

In the years before the formation of the band, Hecksher was busy with a number of other projects in Los Angeles, including Charles Brown Superstar, Don Knotts Overdrive (Hecksher left DKO in 1995 and the band eventually changed its name to Head Set due to legal threats from the actual Don Knotts), and Magic Pacer, played bass guitar with Beck on the Stereopathic Soulmanure album and also with The Brian Jonestown Massacre for a brief period.

The Warlocks played their first gig on July 4, 1998. Receiving comparisons with White Light/White Heat-era Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3, the band signed a two-album deal with the renowned indie label Bomp! in October 2000. Supposedly signed in Hecksher's blood, the contract with Bomp! yielded the band's first release in 2000, the mini-album The Warlocks. This was followed by the release of its first full-length record, Rise and Fall, in 2001. Rise and Fall received a four-and-a-half-star review from AllMusic, with Bryan Thomas describing it as a "solid effort". Hecksher worked as a games tester for DreamWorks until at least 2001.

Birdman and Mute contracts

After the release of Rise and Fall the band left Bomp! and signed with Birdman Records. The EP Phoenix was released by Birdman in 2002 and was followed by a full-length album also called Phoenix, which was also released in 2002, to positive acclaim. Phoenix included a collaboration with Peter Kember (Sonic Boom), of Spacemen 3 and Spectrum, on the song "Hurricane Heart Attack". "Shake the Dope Out" and "Baby Blue" were also released as singles. The group toured the US and overseas with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the Raveonettes and Interpol.

Following Phoenix, the Warlocks signed to Mute and released Surgery in 2005, produced by Tom Rothrock. The record represents a departure from their earlier psychedelic sound into dreamier pop territory, while retaining the band's hard-edged brand of rock. The songs on this record are shorter and more structured than some of their previous work. "Come Save Us" was released as a single. Surgery received a mixed reception from critics; A PopMatters review by Stephen Haag rated it at 6 out of 10, while a Pitchfork review gave the album only a 1.7 out of 10 rating, with Nick Sylvester describing the album as "A mopey bunch of trite sap O.D.-type tales almost as unstomachable as the band's former crapothecary hymns." Prefix gave the album 8.0 out of 10, describing it as "far more approachable" than their earlier releases. The album's lack of commercial success led to the end of their deal with Mute.

Later releases

In the years after Surgery, the band toured internationally and sustained changes to the lineup, leading up to the 2007 release of Heavy Deavy Skull Lover on Tee Pee. The album was, according to Hecksher, recorded over a single weekend, with the band members quitting afterwards. The album is considered darker than their previous work, with the band exploring a more experimental direction. A review in Spin described the album as "funereal" and "sluggishly unrealised", while AllMusic called it "uneven". Heavy Deavy Skull Lover was recorded as a four-piece and marks a brief hiatus from the band for founding member John Christian Rees, who later returned before work began on their 2009 album, The Mirror Explodes. The Mirror Explodes was released in 2009 by Tee Pee. Production of the record was assisted by Joey Santiago of the Pixies.

The years following The Mirror Explodes saw two online releases by the band, available through Bandcamp, as well as a reissue of Rise and Fall via Zap Banana/Cargo in October 2010 which included previously unreleased rarities and artwork by Darren Grealish. The first of the online releases, the highly experimental EXP, was released on January 1, 2010. The second, Enter At Your Own Skull: Unreleased Volume One, a compilation of B-sides, demos and outtakes, was released on June 9, 2011. Besides the online releases and Rise and Fall reissue, the years after The Mirror Explodes were filled with intermittent touring and more line-up changes, resulting in the band solidifying as a five-piece.

The band provided another commercial release in 2013 with Skull Worship, also via Zap Banana/Cargo (distribution). Skull Worship was released on November 26, 2013.

The Warlocks' seventh studio album, Songs from the Pale Eclipse, was released on September 2. A single, "Lonesome Bulldog", was released in promotion for the album in June 2016.

The Warlocks' eighth studio album, Mean Machine Music, was released on May 31, 2019.

The Warlocks' ninth studio album, The Chain, was released on April 3, 2020.

The Warlocks' tenth studio album, In Between Sad was released on September 22, 2023.

Musical style

The band's music has been described as psychedelic rock. In 2008, Hecksher said of the band's sound "...even though it's seemingly chaotic, achieving our sound is a really specific process. We need all these big, hollow-bodied guitars going through old Fender amps with reverb, or it won’t work."

In 2007, the bass guitarist Jenny Fraser described the songwriting process: "Hecksher writes the skeleton of the songs and everyone writes their own parts. He always draws the picture and we paint it in."

Hecksher acknowledges influences including The Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Personnel

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Online albums and compilations

Mini-albums/EPs

Singles

• "Baby Blue" (2003), Mute
• "Shake the Dope Out" (2003), Mute
• "Hurricane Heart Attack" (2003), City Rockers
• "It's Just Like Surgery" (2005), Mute
• "Come Save Us" (2005), Mute
• "Isolation"/"Red Camera" (2006), Bomp!

References

1. Goldberg, Eric (November 22, 2013). "TV Ghost: Disconnect | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved July 26, 2016. The music evokes the gothic low-end drive of Joy Division and the dark neo-psychedelia of the Black Angels and the Warlocks.
   - Ranta, Alan. "The Warlocks – Surgery". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
2. Kot, Greg (March 19, 2010). "Shoegaze Rock Still Looking Down". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
3. Davidson, Mike (September 23, 2003). "Drone Rock Wizards – The Warlocks". Gigwise. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
4. Krista Caproni (June 21, 2016)"The Warlocks Summon Their Inner ‘Lonesome Bulldog’ on Bone-Chilling New Single" "Spin.com" Retrieved Oct. 30, 2017.
5. ^ Davidson, Mike, "Drone Rock Wizards - The Warlocks", Gigwise.com, September 23, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2013
6. Kot, Greg, "The Warlocks' magical musical show", Chicago Tribune, March 21, 2003, p. 3 ('Friday' section)
7. Neuberg, Eva, "The Warlocks, Bobby Hecksher’s Latest West Coast Headtrip", NY Press, April 10, 2001. Retrieved October 27, 2013
   - Ritter, Travis (2006) "A Witch of a Show", Houston Press, February 23, 2006. Retrieved October 27, 2013
   - Epstein, Dan (June 22–28, 2001). "Capsule Band Profiles". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on June 27, 2001.
8. ^ Appleford, Steve, "Black moods, black magic", Los Angeles Times, December 25, 2003, p. E28
9. Inman, Jeff, "Space Oddity: The Warlocks Kick Out The Psychedelic Jams—Just Don't Call ’Em A Jam-Band", City Weekly, June 11, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2013
10. John Zeiss (November 6, 2007). "The Warlocks, Interview in the Dark, Dark Night interview". Prefixmag. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
    - Jacks, Kelso, "Record News", CMJ New Music Report, April 17, 2000, p. 19. Retrieved October 27, 2013
11. ^ Mills, Fred, "The Warlocks The Warlocks Archived February 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine", Broward Palm Beach New Times, April 5, 2001. Retrieved October 27, 2013
12. ^ Thomas, Bryan "The Warlocks Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved October 27, 2013
13. ^ Thomas, Bryan "Rise and Fall Review", Allmusic. Retrieved October 27, 2013
14. "The Warlocks, Bobby Hecksher's Latest West Coast Headtrip". StrausMedia. April 10, 2001. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
    - "Trespasser: Jurassic Park (1998) Windows credits". MobyGames. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
    - "Medal of Honor (Video Game 1999)". IMDb.
15. Simpson, Dave, "The Warlocks: Phoenix", The Guardian, March 14, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2013
16. ^ Robbins, Ira "Warlocks", Trouser Press. Retrieved October 27, 2013
17. Kenneally, Tim (January 2003). "The Warlocks". Spin. p. 33. Retrieved October 27, 2013 – via Google Books.
18. ^ Haag, Stephen, "The Warlocks: Surgery", PopMatters, August 22, 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2013
19. Sylvester, Nick, "The Warlocks Surgery", Pitchfork Media, September 27, 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2013
20. "The Warlocks Surgery" Prefix, March 5, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2013
21. ^ Lymangrover, Jason "Heavy Deavy Skull Lover Review", Allmusic. Retrieved October 27, 2013
22. ^ The Warlocks cast a heavy spell", Metro, August 26, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2013
23. ^ Righi, Len, "Warlocks bassist detects meaning beneath chords of 'Skull Lover' Archived February 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine", Taiwan News, November 30, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2013
24. Anderson, Stacey, "The Warlocks Heavy Deavy Skull Lover", Spin, December 2007, p. 126. Retrieved October 27, 2013
25. "Album Reviews: The Warlocks: The Mirror Explodes". Pitchfork. June 11, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
26. Caproni, Krista (June 21, 2016). "The Warlocks Summon Their Inner 'Lonesome Bulldog' on Bone-Chilling New Single | Spin". Spin. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
27. Morris, Chris (December 23, 2000). "What's Selling This Yuletide at Indies; Warlocks EP Offers a Tasty Preview". Billboard. p. 57. Retrieved October 27, 2013 – via Google Books.
28. Straub, Daniel, "The Warlocks: "Drogen gehören zu unserer Musik"", laut.de, February 4, 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2013
29. Gowing, Liam (2013) "Elliott Smith: 'Mr. Misery' Revisited, 10 Years After the Singer-Songwriter's Controversial Death", Spin, October 21, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013

External links

• The Warlocks
• The Warlocks on Bandcamp

• Psychedelic rock music groups from California
• Musical groups from Los Angeles
• Mute Records artists
• American neo-psychedelia groups
• American shoegaze musical groups