Hands on the Controls

Bridging the gap between his work with noise punk duo Pink & Brown and the psychedelic explorations of Thee Oh Sees, Coachwhips found John Dwyer taking the elemental crash-and-bang sound of garage rock and putting it through the sonic wringer. Hands on the Controls, the first album from the Bay Area trio, is a (relatively) clear statement of purpose, filtering West Coast garage through the sensibilities of the Providence, Rhode Island scene Dwyer came from before relocating to San Francisco. The sound is one that takes an already fuzzed-out genre and pushes its pop leanings into the red, creating a sound that's equal parts infectious and abrasive. While Coachwhips would only get better and better with albums like Get Yer Body Next ta Mine and Bangers vs Fuckers, Hands on the Controls is a scorcher of a debut that highlights a garage revival auteur's quest to add cacophony to chaos. ~ Gregory Heaney