The Warlocks - Surgery

Genre rock Publisher Mute Records External Links Official Website Mute Records Birdman Records

The Warlocks' Surgery is a cacophonous, woozy sounding album that draws on a wide range of influences. From Jesus and Mary Chain to the Velvet Underground to My Bloody Valentine to the Phil Spector-produced girl groups of the sixties, it's all here. At times wildly indulgent, others heartbreakingly sparse, The Warlocks have crafted an album that begs to be heard in full, time after time after time.

Utilizing swirling keyboard pastiches, droning bass, reverberated drums, and chiming guitars, the band pushes and pulls itself in two different directions.

One moment, The Warlocks, in particular band leader Bobby Hecksher, are compelled towards salvation, another, flying off towards the edge of hedonism and despair. The album feels like one long, fevered dream. Which makes sense seeing as how Hecksher drew upon, at least in part, a serious ear infection he contracted while on tour two years ago. While in Spain after three years of touring he was "out of my mind sick," and was told by doctors that if they had seen him two days later he would have lost his hearing permanently.

It's this sort of reckless, bold spirit that propels Surgery, as well as what separates the band from other like minded rock acts. That, and the big, booming sound that producer Tom Rothrock (Beck, Coldplay, Foo Fighters) pulls out of the band. Rothrock's resume, while impressive, doesn't lead one to believe he has the ability to man the helm of an album as unwieldy as this one, but he does. Rothrock, along with the band and in particular Hecksher, have created an album that manages to overshadow their influences and desires, in turn making something that is less categorical and far more original than perhaps anyone, even the band itself, could have dreamt possible.