The Warlocks

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 refined their neo-psychedelic sound on subsequent releases like Surgery (2005), The Mirror Explodes (2009), and Mean Music Machine (2019). Hecksher and his collaborators added new instrumental flavors for 2023's In Between Sad, a song cycle inspired by the death of Hecksher's brother.

Born in Florida, Bobby 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 1994 Stereopathetic Soul Manure, and then, with James Ambrose, he formed Magic Pacer, who waxed two albums for Win Records before Hecksher splintered off to do follow his own muse. 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 would mistake them for Deadheads, the Warlocks' earliest recordings often sound like they're channeling a fever-soaked version of the Velvet Underground circa White Light/White Heat, while drawing further influence from space rock, prog, and Krautrock bands, most notably 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, and 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's sales didn't meet Mute's expectations, and after a one-off return to Bomp! for 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," from the soundtrack of 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. That same year, Fuzz Club Records issued Live At Webster Hall NYC (March 6, 2006), a limited-edition vinyl pressing of a concert in support of Destroy and Rebuild. In March 2020, Hecksher's brother died after a long struggle with cancer, a loss that had a profound effect on him and his creative process. While mourning his sibling's loss, Hecksher wrote the songs that would become 2023's In Between Sad, a personal work that reflected the darker side of the Warlocks' sound while also adding touches of electronic instrumentation, including '80s synthesizers and drum machines. Following the release of In Between Sad, the Warlocks set out on an extensive tour of Europe and the United Kingdom. ~ Bryan Thomas & Mark Deming, Rovi