The Pharmacy
Spells
Reviewed by: Ari Roth
The latest full-length by The Pharmacy is a gentle, bleary-eyed amble of folksy garage rock. It actually takes a step back in fidelity from 2012’s Stoned & Alone, and the whole recording is imbued with a fuzzy, backwoods warmth. The album’s closest stylistic cousin is the prolific DIY psych-pop project Woods, and Spells projects a similar loose, amateurish intimacy, albeit without Woods’ formidable knack for songcraft and melody. Vocals drift lazily in and out of tune, and the arrangements have an appealingly makeshift, ramshackle quality. Appropriately enough, the material on the album was apparently written in a remote Californian cabin, and there is a rural, campfire-y quality to the songs on display here.
Opener “Dead Friend” sets the tone for the album, with strummy acoustic guitars and fuzzy leads melding over sixties-inspired drums, shifting easily from garage-y stomp to girl group thump. Single “Anna Bella” is another album highlight, centering around a classic-sounding, harmony-laden chorus. The pace picks up with “Masten Lake Lagoon”, featuring distorted guitars and frantic drumming, but the breezy vocals prevent the song from spinning off course. “Cool and Calm” is more subdued, with subtle organ accents complementing acoustic jangle and falsetto harmonies. The shuffling “Lizard Queen” wanders a bit too far, with subtle group playing overshadowed by distractingly off-key vocals. The instrumental “All My Reminders of When” also feels a bit superfluous, but “Strange” ends the album on a high point, rocketing off into a starry-eyed guitar solo over a gorgeous progression, and finally disintegrating into radio static and soft strumming.
At only 29 minutes, Spells is over in a blink of an eye. It’s not one of the more substantial or complex albums to come out this year, but it’s breezy and enjoyable, worth the short time commitment and deserving of a listen for anyone who loves sleepy-eyed, relaxed and sun-kissed lo-fi rock.
Rating: 
