Medicine were never quite a shoegaze band. They got pegged as one, but they were more interested in pop than dream pop. And Brad Laner seemed to want to explore noise, not just waves of feedback one could get lost in. The group's newest album, Scarred for Life, dropped yesterday on Drawing Room Records, and it's a fairly solid set of covers, some well-suited to this act's charms.
The title cut, written by Peter Blegvad and performed by Slapp Happy, bursts forth on waves of grinding feedback, the sort of thing that sounds like Laner wrote it, while "Listen to the Band", the old Monkees song, is twisted into some unholy shapes here. Brad Laner's vocals are way back in the mix but it works because what's most impressive is the sheer volume of what's here. Wisely, "Expecting to Fly" is stretched out and pointed towards the sun, the old Buffalo Springfield cut given enough serious respect here to please any classic rock fan. Elsewhere, Bob Welch's "Sentimental Lady" is a woozy delight, so much so that one can only wonder why no one ever thought to cover this one like this before now, while "Pickup Song" from one-time contemporaries Codeine is lovely and direct. I think I almost wish that more of Scarred for Life was like this number, as some of this, namely a misguided attempt at a Mile Davis cover, and a hyper run at a hyper Zappa song, did absolutely nothing for me. Brad Laner, Jim Goodall, Annette Zilinskas, and Matt Devine deserve some credit for getting the band back together again, and Scarred for Life is at least lively throughout, if not entirely necessary.
Scarred for Life is out now via Drawing Room Records.
More details on Medicine via the band's official Facebook page.