Bridging the gap between his work with noise punk duo
Pink & Brown and the psychedelic explorations of
Thee Oh Sees,
Coachwhips found
John Dwyer taking the elemental crash-and-bang sound of garage rock and putting it through the sonic wringer.
Hands on the Controls, the first album from the Bay Area trio, is a (relatively) clear statement of purpose, filtering West Coast garage through the sensibilities of the Providence, Rhode Island scene
Dwyer came from before relocating to San Francisco. The sound is one that takes an already fuzzed-out genre and pushes its pop leanings into the red, creating a sound that's equal parts infectious and abrasive. While
Coachwhips would only get better and better with albums like
Get Yer Body Next ta Mine and
Bangers vs Fuckers,
Hands on the Controls is a scorcher of a debut that highlights a garage revival auteur's quest to add cacophony to chaos.