The Pharmacy

The Pharmacy is back! Sort of. Over a year ago, the poppy, sloppy, fun punk-rock band left their longtime Pacific Northwest home for the greener pastures (and tasty beignets) of New Orleans. The quartet has returned to begin a post-Thanksgiving West Coast tour to promote their new CD.

It's not a surprise that on their new record, Weekend, the band continues to move even further away from their basement-punk beginnings, experimenting with a more mellow, sometimes psychedelic sound laced with sweet harmonies by way of 1960s doo-wop.
The album opens with "Coldest Morning Light," a fuzzy, lo-fi song that makes me think of the Doors, if the Doors weren't so annoyingly cocky—it even has an organ solo. Both "Wait in Vayne" and "Pearl" are brighter, more playful, while "WAYDWYL" nods to the band's faster, more frenzied roots.

And on some of Weekend's tracks, it sounds like some of New Orleans' rich musical history has started to seep into their bones—"Interlude" starts as a mess of harp and piano, but it soon falls into place as a slow, haunting instrumental march that, like the city of New Orleans itself, is both beautiful and full of sad ghosts.

Weekend concludes with "It's Over," a fitting last track that is a cute and rueful song looking back at mistakes made, while accepting, once again, that one is the loneliest number. It's the strongest, most consistent record the band has ever made. And to celebrate, the Pharmacy will play an all-ages CD-release show on Friday, December 4, at Healthy Times Fun Club with bbddm, Herr Jazz, and Naomi Punk.

Welcome back, boys. (I hope you brought enough beignets for everyone.) recommended - The Stranger

It's a more complicated question than it sounds. Weekend, the trio's third album, is for certain a Crescent City product, written and recorded in a Mid-City rental house during the first eight months of 2009 and issued as a split release in March by local imprint Park the Van and Seattle's Don't Stop Believin' Records. Captured using only a four-track, an old microphone and some cheap effects pedals, the LP plays out like a lost artifact from 1965 London, with a low-lying cloud of reverb obscuring singer/guitarist Scott Yoder's jagged Jagger twang, Brendhan Bowers' skipping drum patterns and Stefan Rubicz's mood-swinging, Zombies-inspired keyboard bass lines and solos.

"It was definitely something, I think, that we all had to do, in a natural kind of way," Yoder says of the backward-looking platter. "We all gravitated toward older '60s stuff. New Orleans was definitely the catalyst for being able to bring that out of us."

The group itself, however, is harder to pin down. Born on Seattle's neighboring Vashon Island, the Pharmacy has become something of a timeshare band, one that now must be considered at least half ours: It's putting an international tour on pause this week to lay down leftover tracks for another album here. "I definitely miss New Orleans a lot," Yoder says. "I think about it more than I think about Seattle when I'm on tour."

Which is to say he's been thinking about it a lot. Since leaving town in August, the band has spent as many nights on the road as at home, taking Weekend's tunes everywhere from a May booze cruise in Manhattan ("this trashy, smelly, weird little boat that went around the Statue of Liberty") to the Funk Hostel in Zagreb, Croatia — a high point, Yoder says, of a spring swing through Europe. "The more east we go, the more fun things seem to be. ... It's definitely a different vibe from America. People are a lot more cerebral about their enjoyment of music. There's all these people there just kind of standing and staring at you. You're not really sure what to make of it. You learn to go through the set expecting no interaction with the audience, really. Then you'll finish a set and talk to a few people and realize that they really enjoyed it.

"They're very specific though," he laughs, adding with an unspecific Eastern Bloc accent, "'Song 1 was very good. Song 2, no.'"

Even persnickety listeners will have a hard time faulting Weekend. The band's formerly kaleidoscopic psych/pop suddenly finds laser-guided precision, both musically and lyrically, on the eerily Stones-like zenith "On With the Show" (whose cascading, painted-black hook takes turns on piano and violin) and "Children on TV" ("Remember we were just children on TV / And the whole world was just what our eyes could see?").

Weekend's companion album, the bulk of which will be recorded this week in the 9th Ward, continues the retro-rock mining while playing up the grungier garage aspects, Yoder hints: "It's more '90s, in a way. I don't think I will ever not think of Nirvana."

After its first trip to Mexico, a cool-down summer in Seattle and an annual fall jaunt, the bicoastal band plans to return to New Orleans in the winter. For Yoder, it seems, home is where the guitar is. "I think it's safest to say that we're a band that started on Vashon Island," he says, resigned. "I don't know if we're a New Orleans band, or a Seattle band, or a Zagreb band." - The Gambit

The attempts to spin a zeitgeist yarn about young people’s desire to party and bullshit have been far and wide in our movies, literature and music for the last three decades or so. The opinions of each of these works usually range from the condemning (Jay McInerney’s Bright Lights, Big City) to the purposefully vague (Justin Kerrigan’s Human Traffic), but most of these works are solipsistic fits that fall into navel-gazing before the end of the first 20 chapters, pages or minutes. Fortunately for us, Weekend — the latest LP from New Orleans trio The Pharmacy — contains little lyrical similarities, and when it does it still simply rocks.

I should note that I mean “simply” in the most literal possible sense. On Weekend, The Pharmacy has removed much of the electronic ether that makes much rock music so god damned tangy nowadays and successfully replaced it with a sharp buzz. Most of the songs never feature more than vocals/drums/guitar/piano, and only utilize a simple overdrive. Anything beyond that is saved for a musical finale (like on “Strangers”).

It’s possible that I’m extrapolating far too much from the LP’s title, but Weekend appears to be arranged like the musical equivalent of Richard Linklater’s Slackers, with each song representing a resonant scene from the average weekend, complete with as much excitement and ennui as the situation calls for. Over some very nice thrashy guitars and perfecting lolling vocals, The Pharmacy constructs some episodes that we all are familiar with like a pretty potheaded lady (“Stoner Girl”) or the fits of self-loathing that we are wont to fall into (“Wwydwyl”, “Did You Ever Doubt Yourself?”).

Sometimes the message becomes redundant; but, then again, so do most weekends. Repitition does, however, become a bit of an issue on Weekend. By the time you get to “It’s Over” (the last song on the album — go figure!), the super-simplicity of many of the LP’s song structures and musical arrangements/styles may start to wear down your nerves. I found myself wishing for a minor key or an occasional eerily employed organ (like on the fantastic opening track, “Coldest Morning Light”). They eventually came (in “On With The Show”), but not before a few pangs of boredom had struck my brain.

This is an album which thematically sums up a significant subset of the American young person’s time — how much and of whose is best left debated by musicoethnosocioanthropologistas (those bastards!). Musically, it is a great work by a band that still, hopefully, has a lot more time left to make music and lot more insight to offer. - Stereo Subversion

The Pharmacy is not just retro. Diese Band ist tatsächlich schon fast Vintage. This band is indeed nearly Vintage. Drei, mittlerweile in New Orleans beheimatete Freaks, die offensichtlich die Vinyl-Sammlung ihrer Eltern (oder Großeltern) inhaliert haben und auf Weekend in gerade mal gut 30 Minuten einen Klassiker an den Nächsten reihen. Three, now in New Orleans-based freaks, the collection of their parents (or grandparents) have inhaled vinyl obvious and Weekend in just over 30 minutes in a classic series to the next.

Kleiner Exkurs gefällig? Small digression compliant? Man schlage nach im großen Geschichtsbuch des Rock'n Roll. Man hit by the large history book of rock 'n' Roll. Da gab es doch mal diese sogenannte British Invasion mit Herren wie Alexis Korner, Eric Burdon oder auch einem gewissen Keith Richards, die seinerzeit den schwarzen Rhythm'n Blues für sich entdeckten und damit so ganz nebenbei den Grundstein für den Siegeszug der Popmusik legten. Because there were times this so-called British invasion with men like Alexis Korner, Eric Burdon, or even a certain Keith Richards, the then discovered the black Rhythm'n Blues for themselves along the way and thus laid the foundation for the successful evolution of pop music. Lang, lang ist es her. Long, long time ago.

Mittlerweile schreiben wir bekanntermaßen Mai 2010 und diese Bengels sind tatsächlich frech genug, sich endlich das ganze Zeugs von der Insel zurück in die US of A. zu holen. We now review known to May 2010 and these rascals are actually bold enough to finally get the stuff from the island back to the U.S. of A.. Kulturtransfer in umgekehrter Richtung also, wenn auch mit einiger Verspätung. Cultural transfer in the opposite direction, then, albeit with some delay. Dabei klingen sie schon fast erschreckend authentisch, fast so als seien sie geradewegs per Zeitmaschine aus London und Liverpool ins 21.Jahrhundert katapultiert worden.Als ehemalige Straßenmusiker wissen die Jungs darüber hinaus ganz genau worauf es ankommt: Man braucht kurze, knackige Songs mit eingebautem Gute-Laune-Faktor um beim Publikum zu landen. They sound almost shockingly authentic, almost as if they were catapulted straight via time machine from London and Liverpool in the 21st century worden.Als former street musician, the boys also know exactly what is important: you need a short, crisp songs incorporating Good feel-factor land to the public. Das unterstützt dann nämlich auch den Griff zum Portemonnaie. This then also supports the handle to the purse.

Auf Weekend gelingen ihnen nun fast perfekte 2-Minuten-Popsongs mit reichlich Hitpotential und Tiefgang. On Weekend succeed now almost perfect two-minute pop songs with plenty of hit potential and depth. Ich gehe jede Wette ein: Mit der entsprechenden Promotion-Maschinerie im Rücken irgendeinen der 13 Tracks als Single ausgekoppelt, und man weiss was einem für die nächsten Monaten ausgiebig aus den Radiosendern entgegenschallen wird. I'll bet: coupled with the appropriate promotional machinery behind some of the 13 tracks as a single, and one knows what the next for months entgegenschallen extensively from the radio stations.

Die Pfeiler, auf denen dieses Album thront: The Animals ( What are you doing with my life?), die Kinks zu ihren besten Zeiten ( My Business) und immer wieder die Beatles. The pillars on which dominates this album: The Animals (What are you doing with my life?), The Kinks at their best (My Business) and again the Beatles. Hand aufs Herz: Stünden als Komponisten unter Titeln wie Wait in Vayne oder Did you ever doubt yourself? nicht die Namen Yoder/Bowers/Rubicz sondern Lennon/McCartney/Harrison – sie wären längst musikkulturelles Allgemeingut. Honestly, stood as a composer under titles such as Wait in Vayne or Did you ever doubt yourself? Not the names Yoder / Bowers / Rubicz but Lennon / McCartney / Harrison - they would long ago music cultural commonplace. Aber The Pharmacy hätten sich wohl auch im Dunstkreis von Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control und all den anderen Bands des Neunziger-Jahre-Kultlabels Elephant6 ganz wohl gefühlt. But The Pharmacy had probably also in the atmosphere of Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, and all the other bands of the nineties-years-cult labels quite felt comfortable elephant6.

Ihr merkt, ich habe mich da wohl ein bissel verknallt, bleibe aber dabei: Verglichen mit all den anderen Bands, die zu Zeit auf der Retro-Welle durch die Lande surfen, haben The Pharmacy einfach einen deutlichen Charme-Vorsprung. You see, I have a crush on me as well Bissel, stick to it, however: Compared with all the other bands, the time on the retro-wave through the country to surf the Pharmacy have a distinct charm easily lead. - Dorf Disco

Who? The Seattle-based art punkers The Pharmacy are driven by core, founding members Scottie Yoder (guitar/vocals) and Brendhan Bowers (drums/vocals), who have been playing together since they were in their teens. Outside of Yoder and Bowers, the band has gone through numerous incarnations due to the band's crazy touring schedule and DIY aesthetic. Most recently the band completed a three-month, 80-date tour with new keyboardist Stefan Rubicz and bassist Ryan Thompson in tow. Playing Bumbershoot's EMP | SFM Sky Church stage Saturday (Sept. 1) at 6:30 P.M.

What's the Deal? The Pharmacy craft art-punk tunes combined with earworm-worthy pop sensibilities and rhyming Seuss-like lyrics ready for blissful sing-alongs. Although the world may be going digital, The Pharmacy's most recent release, put out by Tic Tac Totally, is Abominable -- a 7" of "Tropical Yeti Song" on white vinyl with a pressing of only 500 copies. The playful synth-pop of this track will get booties shakin' and toes tappin' faster than you can say "Humble Bumble."

Fun Fact: After their less-than-reliable van quit while on tour in Georgia, the band crashed a family reunion only to find good old Southern Hospitality. The band stayed with members of that family until their van could be repaired. - Spin.com

A couple days ago the Pharmacy, Electric Tickle Machine, and Golden Triangle—all coincidentally pals of mine—played a show on a boat called the The Jewel. We cruised down the East River, enjoyed a couple of laps around the Statue of Liberty, and then commenced a little nautical maneuver known as rocking the fuck out of the cocksucker. All in all it was a very pleasant evening full of good attitudes, profuse sweating, and only mild nausea. - Vice