The Warlocks have always been the odd band out in the West Coast neo-psych scene. But if the Warlocks have an image problem, it's one of their own design, given that they've sounded like a different band on every album, evolving from caveman garage-rock stompers (2000's Warlocks EP) to Floydian acid-folk pastorales (2001's Rise and Fall) to Spacemen 3-meets-Stones swagger (2002's The Phoenix Album) to jangly, Spectorized pop (2005's Surgery, the band's first and last release for Mute Records).
Heavy Deavy Skull Lover marks another distinct break from previous form, though this time the shift is symbolic as much as it is stylistic. With the more lushly produced Surgery failing to turn on any more heads than the band's primordial releases for Bomp! Records, the Warlocks have retreated to another niche label (stoner-psych specialists Tee Pee Records). And you don't have to look at the band's current press photo to realize that this once formidable octet has been downsized into standard quartet formation: Compared to previous releases, Heavy Deavy Skull Lover sounds noticeably more threadbare and fragile. Along the way, The Warlocks have seemingly sacrificed the two things that differentiated them from their peers: frontman Bobby Hecksher's easy-flowin' melodicism and the band's thunderous dual-drummer set-up. Instead of inspiring the band to sharpen their songwriting, the pared-down Warlocks strum and mumble through Heavy Deavy's eight sprawling tracks like a band waving the white flag.
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