The Searchin’ Destroyers considers its sound to be “psychedelic garage pop punk Tejano spaghetti western surf soul rock music,” and I hear precisely that in their debut album, The Misery Hang, released on June 12. This is an album I’d play cruising down a desert highway, with life stretched out before me, having everywhere and nowhere to go. Its loose, surfy instrumentals point to bands like Allah-Las and The Black Angels. Songs range from the playful and imaginary “Hepa Machine” to the poignant “You Lost Touch with the World,” released as a single in May, and a personal favorite. There’s no lyrical theme that makes The Misery Hang entirely copacetic, and the tracks certainly don’t emanate somber vibes, like the title may suggest. However, the juxtaposition of the higher-pitched lead vocals and refreshing guitar solos, prominent organ sounds (very The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun”) and heavy bass lines thread the tracks together, carrying me along the open road to west coast waves.
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