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Creators of cantankerous, chaotic L.A. garage punk,
Lamps made their reputation with a noisy, stripped-down sound seasoned with occasional bursts of electronic anarchy as the band pounded out the beat. A group that notoriously takes their time between releases,
Lamps first stepped out with a self-titled EP in 2005, while their better-structured and more-frantic sophomore album, Under the Water Under the Ground, belatedly appeared in 2012. They introduced a new lineup that was every bit as frantic as before on 2020's
People with Faces.
Lamps was the brainchild of singer and guitarist Monty Buckles and drummer
Josh Erkman. Buckles was also a filmmaker who directed videos for
Be Your Own Pet,
the Intelligence,
A-Frames, and
Black Lips, and he was loosely involved with the Los Angeles underground music scene before starting
Lamps with
Erkman. Buckles and
Erkman got as far as some practice sessions at Buckles' apartment before the duo petered out. The two decided to give it another chance, though, and things shaped up with the addition of bassist Tim Ford. After recording a pair of demos (the first on a cassette machine, the second in Ford's eight-track home studio),
Lamps played their first gig at a friend's party, which led to a paying show supporting
the Orphans and
American Death Ray at L.A.'s underground venue Juvee. Larry Hardy caught
Lamps at a show with
the Deadly Snakes, and he soon signed the act to his label. Their self-titled nine-song debut EP, which featured
Piranhas guitarist Nai Sammon on a few tracks, arrived in 2005. The band's first full-length, also entitled Lamps, was released in 2007 and boasted a more expansive, but still cranky and abrasive, sound.
Between Buckles' directing career and the commitments of the other members, it was five years before
Lamps were able to release their second album. 2012's Under the Water Under the Ground presented a fuller and more carefully structured sound without compromising the dirty heart of their music. Fans would have another long wait before the third full-length album from
Lamps, and during their layoff, bassist Tim Ford left the band. 2020's
People with Faces introduced bassist and vocalist Denée Segall to the group; the album was produced by garage punk kingpin
Ty Segall. ~ Heather Phares & Mark Deming