Written By: Chris Parsons

Welcome back from the holidays! We’ve already undergone the mysterious transition into the “14th Baktun,” and are looking very much towards the prospects of 2013 on the horizon. Because of this in-between period, I’ve decided to draft up a retrospective for 2012. Fear not, this is not the typical ranking of the year-end “Best of…” or “Top 10, 20, 30” lists of bands and/or musical projects. Instead, I am very happy to squeeze 5 impressive artists from 2012 into this featured serial release over the weekend, before the slew of 2013 releases beginning pouring through the ozone. Since my inception into The Process Records/Think Like a Label back in April, my music collection and network has largely, and tastefully exploded and these psychedelic bands are ones that I’ve been particular smitten by, the only delay in their features being either the result of catching wind of the releases a bit too late or the increasing athletic trend of projects which are intent on producing an overwhelming output of multiple full-length releases in a single year. (Part 1)

Dr. Jack & The Electric Painkillers

Currently grooving on the U.S. west coast, Dr. Jack & The Electric Painkillers is both a solo and collaborative project founded by “post-DIY” engineer and producer, Dr. Jack Shelton, who should be noted for his experiments in lo-fi aural alchemy during post-production. Dr. Jack & The Electric Painkillers is also one the five bands responsible for multiple releases (4) put out in 2012; included amongst them is a 3x- and 4x- LP, as well as an abridged “radio friendly” compilation of the triple-disc album, an improvisational, free-jazz neo-psychedelic jam-out (most recent) and is also credited with producing a fifth release, put out by Rosko Taint. The sound of “The Electric Painkillers” is a wholly familiar, yet original fusion of derivative and subconscious psychedelic folk and jazz idioms, paired with the wall-of-sound aesthetics of post-modern shoegaze. The vocals tend to infuse a gospel-like soul into the songwriting, sometimes resembling an almost raw, flower-punk kind of croon. You won’t believe that the sought-after two-inch tape sound of Dr. Jack‘s productions is wholly and resourcefully coaxed out of a versatile Mac computer, which comes across as an impressive substitution for the preferred, yet anachronistic vintage machines not always immediately available to a do-it-yourselfer.