* En anglais uniquement
Led by guitarist/singer
Bobby Hecksher, who has remained the group's sole constant member over the years,
the Warlocks are a Los Angeles-based band who retrofit Nuggets-style garage rock, British shoegaze, drone, and
Velvet Underground-inspired art-rock into a contemporary frame. Emerging in the late 1990s, the band issued their debut album,
Rise and Fall in 2001, and perfected their neo-psychedelic sound on subsequent releases like
Surgery (2005),
The Mirror Explodes (2009), and
Mean Music Machine (2019).
Born in Florida,
Hecksher grew up on a steady diet of rock & roll -- his mother worked at a radio station owned by his grandfather -- and in the late '80s he moved to California and soon formed his first group, Charles Brown Superstar, who issued two singles and two full-length albums before calling it a day.
Hecksher was later invited to play on
Beck's Stereopathetic Soul Manure, then -- along with James Ambrose -- formed Magic Pacer, who waxed two albums for Win Records before
Hecksher splintered off to do his own thing. (
Hecksher was also briefly a member of
the Brian Jonestown Massacre, led by kindred spirit
Anton Newcombe.)
Over the course of several years and many personnel changes (a constantly changing lineup being one of the group's trademarks),
Hecksher eventually formed his eight-piece band, calling them
the Warlocks, a moniker that had been previously used by early incarnations of both
the Velvet Underground and
the Grateful Dead. While no one will mistake them for a Deadhead band,
the Warlocks' earliest recordings do often sound like they're channeling a fever-soaked
Velvet Underground (circa
White Light/White Heat), while drawing further influence from space rock, prog, and Krautrock bands (including
Neu! and
Hawkwind).
The Warlocks subsequently emerged as leading lights on the Los Angeles music scene in 1999-2000, and in October 2000
Hecksher signed with America's oldest indie label, the Burbank-based Bomp!, who issued their self-titled debut EP in late 2000. In the fall of 2001, Bomp! released
the Warlocks' first full-length album,
Rise and Fall, but
Hecksher and company jumped ship for another noted indie, Birdman Records, for their next album, 2002's
The Phoenix Album. In some territories,
The Phoenix Album was distributed by the respected British label Mute Records, and Mute teamed with
the Warlocks to issue 2005's
Surgery.
Surgery didn't sell well enough to meet Mute's expectations, and after a one-off return to Bomp!, 2006's Destroy and Rebuild,
the Warlocks ended up at the stoner-friendly Teepee Records, in part through the help of
Anton Newcombe.
After cutting two albums for Teepee, 2007's
Heavy Deavy Skull Lover and 2009's
The Mirror Explodes,
the Warlocks took time off from recording while
Hecksher formed his own label, Zap Banana Records (whose logo was a canny reference to the iconic artwork from the first
Velvet Underground album).
Hecksher launched the label with an expanded reissue of the
Rise and Fall album, packaged with a bonus disc of rare tracks (including
the Warlocks' version of "Cocaine Blues," which was the soundtrack to a short film by
Hecksher that featured a cameo appearance by
Rivers Cuomo of
Weezer). In 2013,
Hecksher unveiled his latest lineup of
the Warlocks with a new album for Zap Banana,
Skull Worship. In 2016,
Hecksher and
the Warlocks -- now a six-piece with an impressive four guitarists -- teamed up with Cleopatra Records to release
Songs from the Pale Eclipse. Vevey, a concert album recorded during the band's European tour in support of the LP, arrived the following year. In 2019 the band issued
Mean Music Machine, which drew inspiration from
Stereolab, Krautrock, and death rock. 2020's
The Chain was a concept album built around the story of a couple on a crime spree and their dealings with the justice system. ~ Bryan Thomas