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Artist
Wicked Hemlocks
12+ albums
indiepop
about
Brooklyn-based Wicked Hemlocks merges psych-rock with euphoric pop melody and experimental flourishes—evoking Syd Barrett, Silver Apples, and Spacemen 3. Despite the nod to such legendary artists, the band remains startlingly original and innovative, warping idle minds with new sonic experiences and doses of fractured pop perfection. Wicked Hemlocks is Ned Shatzer (guitar/vocals), Jamie Schmitz (percussion), Brian McCorkle (bass/vocals) and Michael Hanf (synth/vocals). Wicked Hemlocks began when Ned and Jamie aborted a 2007 effort to create the soundtrack to an avant-garde short film. The duo had met in 2006 through a friend, and although Ned was coming from a garage-punk background and Jamie from an electronic one, they were able to meet in the middle and plant the seeds of the psychedelic landscape that would grow into Wicked Hemlocks. According to Ned, The idea was to work backwards and create music with the vision of a film, and then create the film for the music. I had a vision of an underground, cultish secret society in New York that performed rituals and ceremonies cloaked in the candle-lit shadows of a dingy Brooklyn warehouse.” With this macabre imagery in mind, the two set to work on a bevy of haunting, original pieces. When the filmmakers backed out, however, Ned and Jamie were left with a finished score and no visuals to accompany it. Instead of scrapping the material, they formed the Wicked Hemlocks, and put the songs out as an album aptly titled “Quill
