(Tee Pee)

www.teepeerecords.com

The Warlocks lay it on pretty damn thick. Their intentionally hazy retro-rock references ‘70s psychedelic music and shoegaze, similar to Black Mountain's methodology, but with a whole lot more attitude about it all. The problem is, there's not always a whole lot of substance to back up this posturing.

Bobby Hecksher sounds like he's singing with a half-opened mouth, the words just barely escaping the threshold of his teeth, an indecipherable mush of presumably heady lyrics. The music is pretty much what one would expect from a band that gets described as "druggy" - mid-tempo rock awash in a mist of distortion, reverb, and mumbling, forced out through a My Bloody Valentine template of slow screeching. Sure, the atmosphere is ripe, but these songs feel like empty calories.

It would be interesting to resurrect the late DJ Screw to work his magic on some of these tracks, playing them at half speed while chugging some cough sizzurup. Then, the desired effect might result. For now, The Warlocks don't quite create the magic their name would imply.

Standout Tracks: "Red Camera" "Slowly Disappearing" JONAH FLICKER