Dr. Green - Relax.

Dr. Green

Relax.
self-released; 2015

3.5 out of 5

By Megan Gazzo

The album Relax. by Dr. Green is filled with garage classics. It feels like a high school throw back and I have a crush on the main singer. I see myself going over to band practice and I kinda sway back and forth as I wear his t-shirt. Images of leather jackets and hair gel dance through my head when I hear these tracks. 

The lyrics of the first song “ Won’t Mind” says, “Outta sight, outta mind.” I like the play on words with the song title. It’s definitely hard edged but silly. I also like that the album is called Relax. by Dr. Green, which sounds like Dr. Green is a medical marijuana doctor issuing people their 215 cards. However, not much about it is relaxing, unless you find bands like Garbage and Hole relaxing. 

“Tortoise” brings in a psychedelic wonderland of echoing electric guitars and the singer has a voice that is similar to that of Violent Femmes spliced with Ween. It feels cool and garbagy. It is healthy and natural but definitely feels like decomposition is going on.  

Moving through the album to the song “Milque” lightens up a bit and gets more shiny. Unfurled, unexpected psychedelic passages still present themselves, however the song is a little more sunshine and rainbows than the other tracks. It might have to do with the fact that it is a love song. It gets more condensed and focused as the track progresses and then ends in an almost blue grassy twist. A couple of electric guitars that are spindly and an unkempt drum kit is a recipe for that edginess that is just barely silly. 

Overall, this is an eclectic album that is surely not to leave listeners bored. If anything it keep them captivated. No song stays the same all the way through. The garage rock is evened out with nice surfer and psychedelic passages that bring a sense of relief and decompression. You will surely enjoy it. It is like the weather in the Pacific Northwest; if you don’t like it – just wait five minutes or in a song’s case, five seconds.

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