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APACHE DROPOUT – HEAVY WINDOW

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I remember the Nuggets record my dad always kept on the top of his bookshelf, its bold, candy-store bright cover intricately twisting, teasing the fuzzy psych era hidden inside. I finally pulled it down one day (probably when I was tall enough to reach) and listened to it all in one sitting. “I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night”, and “Liar Liar” buzzed and bumped over swirling guitar and bare bones instrumentation. I was taken with the scuzzy, lo-fi energy and thumping beats, which carried a feeling of authenticity lost on most other music with higher production values and an unfounded sense of self-importance.
Hearing Bloomington, Indiana’s APACHE DROPOUT took me back – to the feeling of something clicking into place. While not a 60s revival band per se, Apache Dropout brings the 60s aesthetic with a modern twist, and a genuine appreciation for rock n’ roll. Since their eponymous debut album in 2011, Dropout has played true-to-form Garage Rock. Fuzzy guitars, absurtist lyrics, and howling, snarky vocals that ignite some simmering Rock and Roll High School-esque sense of mischievous innocence; I want to blast “Radio Double Agent” over my school’s PA system until I’m caught by the principal. I want to scream along to “Crystal Ball” until my mother tells me to turn it down.
Apache’s latest LP, Heavy Window, released just last month, is their most stripped-down effort yet, offering oversaturated fuzz and echoey vocals characteristic of the MAGNETIC SOUTH roster, and adhering to the same nostalgic danceability that has defined their past work. They are clearly having loads of fun along the way.
Recorded on all analog equipment, there is hefty scuzz and grit component to this recording that works almost like additional instrumentation, combining well with the swirling psychedelic grooviness as it does. It’s classic American garage rock viewed through a kaleidoscope- there’s the lo-fi aesthetic, accompanied by thumping drums and requisite manic energy, all twisted up in a disorienting, shiny haze of samples, funk, and surreal lyrics.
Heavy Window manages to serve as a roller coaster ride of staccato reverberation and youthful rebellion throughout its quickly paced 11 tracks, surely providing enough fuzz and swirling energy for more than one sitting.

Catch APACHE DROPOUT this monday (9/22) @ Middlesex in Central Sq. w/ Doug Tuttle, Phaze, Nice Guys, and Rag Face!!!!
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