The 2010s saw an incredible resurgence in Southern California psychedelic bands. It seemed like overnight flared corduroy, circular glasses, long hair and kaleidoscopic riffs were back in. I was incredibly grateful. I’ve long had a big old soft spot for the 60s pastiche sounds of bands like Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Finally, it seemed, the world was bringing those sounds back around.
It was during that paisley heyday that the Wild Wild Wets first emerged. I remember being freshly 21 and being absolutely absorbed by the Wets’ fittingly wild, light-show-drenched live shows at local haunts like the Casbah. Those shows, especially at that age, were truly an experience. And for the past 15 years, the band has carried the local garagey psychedelia torch.
Wild Wild Wets, “The Seer”: The band’s latest full-length, “Love Always,” is another solid entry into its catalog of fuzzy, high-energy psych rock. Standouts like “Say So,” exhibit the Wets’ ability to turn up the hard-edged octane while the plodding The Jesus and Mary Chain-esque “Last Ditch,” finds the band digging into its sentimental, doo-wop bag. “The Seer,” on the other hand, is an upbeat, technicolor earworm of a garage pop track.
Like what you hear? Check out Wild Wild Wets at Casbah on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists.