Cricketbows

about

Rev Chad Wells is always full of surprises. Yet, his latest musical foray, Cricketbows, stunned those familiar with the rock ’n’ roll oeuvre of this tattoo-slinging former frontman for B-movie punks The Jackalopes. Where the ’Lopes were irreverent and hard-edged, created under the influence of The Misfits and cheap beer, Cricketbows is more experimental and, dare I say, a bit hippified. Wells has assumed the mantle of musical merry prankster, gleefully drawing mood-altering inspiration from psychedelic bands, krautrock groups, art-damaged folkies and other progressive-minded acts. The 2010 Cricketbows release, “hOMe,” was a solo, home-recorded affair. It came front-loaded with stream-of-consciousness lyrics and mostly-improvised music that fell somewhere between folky Roky Erickson/Syd Barrett-style acid-casualty songs and extended, Krautrock-esque epics. It was a far cry from the martians, monsters, zombies and cool chicks that populate The Jackalopes catalog. In fact, punk rock was about the only genre not in the sonic stew. Wells follows a similar far-out template on “Mycocosmic Transmission,” the latest Cricketbows album. “There’s quite a bit of lyrical improvisation on this one but a few songs were actually written down first and polished a bit,” he said. “I try to retain the integrity of the improvisational thing by capturing riffs and lines as soon as they’re created so they don’t have time to became too precise or slick or overly thought out.” Where “hOMe” found Wells

top songs

albums

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Diamonds

Home

Mycocosmic Transmission

Raised on Rock and Roll

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Communion

A Congregation of One: Collected Singles from the Original Trilogy

Amanita Holiday (Christmastime Sure Looks Weird This Year)

Lid

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A Congregation of One (Collected Singles from the Original Trilogy)

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Raggedy Hillside b/w Saccharine Sweet

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Sara Elaine

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The Process

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