THE LOST PATROL - "Rocket Surgery"

The Shadows-meet-Joy Division. Meet Ennio Morricone. Meet David Lynch. And that’s just for starters. Indeed, The Lost Patrol’s sonic spaghetti Western-in-the-sky belies their New York roots. Like stars that only come forth well beyond city limits, the band’s influences are legion, yet the product they yield is as singular as a life-bearing planet.

The Lost Patrol’s third album in as many years, the beautifully produced Rocket Surgery (2011) carries the listener ever-deeper into a void untouched by the commercial mainstream. “A softer touch / A face so sweet / A lust for blood / Awakes the beast,” croons vocalist Mollie Israel on the album’s opener, “Dead or Alive”, a vintage tune propelled by the sleepy determination of Michael Williams’s four-four 12-string and lead guitarist Stephen Masucci’s sparkling reverb.

Rocket Surgery’s centerpiece is a star-dusted homage to ’50s torch songs called “This Road is Long”. Here, Israel more than makes good on the promise shown on earlier tracks like “Homecoming” (from the band’s 2008 release, Midnight Matinée), delivering what is perhaps her finest vocal performance yet. Coupled with dark lyrics ("You gave good guys a bad name...") and lush orchestration, "This Road is Long" suggests Skeeter Davis fronting The Moody Blues-from-under-someone-else's-bed.

But, unlike Scarlett Johansson and Josh Hartnett in The Black Dahlia, Israel isn’t merely playing dress-up. “Don’t look so sad / You don’t know / All that you have,” she pleads with the subject of “Little Girl” as Masucci’s guitar soars like wisdom of the ages.

To be sure, what distinguishes The Lost Patrol from much of the “shoegaze” genre is a brand of existential maturity that transcends kretek-infused apathy. As Israel notes on “Lost at Sea”, “When the strongest love / Wasn’t built to last / You know the brightest stars / Burn twice as fast.” Or, on “Not the Only One”, “You are the remedy / That sickens me.” Even a line like “I need you / To be mine / Dead or alive” acknowledges that, for better or worse, we ultimately have nothing if not each other. And for The Lost Patrol, that means everything.

REVIEW: The Lost Patrol/"Dark Matter"

THE LOST PATROL – Dark Matter
Self-Produced; http://www.thelostpatrol.com

As its title implies, the seventh album from New York's Lost Patrol (and second with singer Mollie Israel) finds the band characteristically digging ever-deeper into the darker recesses of the human psyche via reverb-soaked surf guitar, lonesome 12-string rhythm and haunting female vocals.

The great potential Israel demonstrated on the band's last album, 2008's Midnight Matinée, has blossomed considerably on Dark Matter. Here, her lilting voice fully inhabits the melodic twilight of tracks such as "These Days", "Nobody There" and "Ever After".

But looks can be deceiving; indeed, beneath Israel's wan exterior lurks latent, predatory muscle. "Now you keep me / Like a disease" she wails over the menacing groove of "In Your Blood", like an obsessively crazed ex capable of a whole lot more than flattening your tires. This incarnation resurfaces later within the majestic gloom of "Justine" (based on the de Sade character of the same name), wherein Israel admits, "I love the way they tortured you, Justine". Even the yé-yé-inspired bubblegum of "Before I Go" has a decidedly dark cast about it.

On Dark Matter, the band has evidently found common footing given Israel's underscored presence and the supporting roles in which bandmates Stephen Masucci and Michael Williams have seemingly cast themselves. And while this is most assuredly a good thing overall, the band's ardent long-time fans may find themselves lamenting the absence of the soaring and mournful instrumentals that Masucci and Williams brought to the Lost Patrol's earlier work.

And, 15 Minutes Later, They Had Their *Second* Taste of Whisky...

If you are or plan to be in the vicinity of Los Angeles on December 3, make every effort to drop by the legendary Whisky a Go Go, as The Lost Patrol return to West Hollywood, bringing their unique blend of dark, haunting surf, lounge, and spaghetti western-influenced sounds...

I Have a Favor to Ask

In the summer of 2007, while undergoing chemotherapy, I discovered this band out of the New York area called the Lost Patrol. In a word, I’d describe their sound as cinematic, a broad mix of influences that conjures everything from surf guitar, lounge, Ennio Morricone and David Lynch to desert skies, Joy Division and film noir. It really clicked for me, especially at a time when I couldn’t do much more than lie back and listen to music while the poison in my veins did its job.

I contacted them on MySpace a few months later, to tell them how much I appreciated their music and how, for me, it provided the perfect soundtrack to cancer treatment (if that can, indeed, be considered a compliment). To my surprise, they wrote me back, saying how much they appreciated my story, etc., and since then we’ve actually become friends.

Unfortunately, the last time they played Baltimore, in November 2008, in support of their most recent album, Midnight Matinee, about six people (including myself) showed up. Granted, it being a Sunday night didn’t help; still, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they (understandably) never played Charm City again after that turnout (or lack thereof).

Nevertheless, they’ve told me how much they like Baltimore and, fresh off a west coast tour that included the legendary Whiskey A-Go-Go, they’re coming back to Mobtown to play a gig at 8:00 p.m. this Friday, July 24, at Cyclops Books (on the northeast corner of Maryland and North Avenues).

The Lost Patrol have received a lot of critical acclaim, and I quite seriously think there is a broader audience out there (and here, in Baltimore) for them. That said, I plan to go see their show this Friday night, which, depending on the turnout, will hopefully be followed by more down the line.

Which (rather longwindedly, I know) brings me to that favor: if you have the chance (and even the slightest curiosity), please visit their website, which includes a handful of MP3s of their music. And if you like what you hear and/or happen to be free this Friday night, please consider coming down to Cyclops at 8:00 p.m. for their show. (I’m not sure how much the show costs, but I can’t imagine it will be very much at all.) As a friend, I would greatly appreciate it, personally, and I know they will, too.

Hell, I’ll even bring the booze . . .

And thanks for listening, as well as your support!


WPT


-30-

EDITOR'S CHOICE: The Lost Patrol

Fresh off their first-ever West Coast tour (including the legendary Whisky a Go Go), New York's Lost Patrol - whose sound includes ethereal female vocals backed by soaring, reverb-drenched surf guitar and Western 12-string rhythm - offer a cinematic listening experience that is at once uniquely their own while paying homage to everything from Morricone, Dick Dale and The Shadows to David Lynch, Joy Division and film noir. Don't miss them live on Friday, July 24, at Cyclops in Baltimore and Saturday, July 25, at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt...


July 18, 2009 @ 8:00P
Cafe Coco
210 Louise Ave.
Nashville, TN

July 22, 2009 @ 8:00P
The Camel
1621 West Broad St.
Richmond, VA

July 24, 2009 @ 8:00P
Cyclops
30 West North Ave.
Baltimore, MD

July 25, 2009 @ 8:00P
New Deal Cafe
113 Centerway
Greenbelt, MD

July 26, 2009 @ 8:00P
Galaxy Hut
2711 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA

August 15, 2009 @ 8:00P
Half Penny Pub
321 W. Fayette St.
Syracuse, NY

August 22, 2009 @ 8:00P
The Record Collector (Living Room Series)
358 Farnsworth Ave.
Bordentown, NJ

Try them on for size:

"On the Run"

"Homecoming"

"Orbit"

"Colours Turn Grey"

New LOST PATROL Shirts Now Available

I first discovered The Lost Patrol (TLP) in summer 2007, while undergoing treatment for cancer; somehow, for me, their music provided the perfect soundtrack for chemotherapy (which I mean in the best possible way). It was thus with great excitement that I met the fall 2008 release of their seventh studio album, MIDNIGHT MATINEE, which, when The Mobtown Shank's Benn Ray invited me to compile a year-end favorites list, easily made my Top Five:

Were David Lynch to direct a spaghetti western featuring a climactic showdown between Carl Sagan and Carlos Castaneda, The Lost Patrol might provide the perfect soundtrack. Hailing from the greater New York City area, the band’s unique sound reflects a seemingly bottomless well of influences ranging from Morricone to Dick Dale to Joy Division. Guitarist Stephen Masucci’s reverb-drenched Mosrite along with the boundless desert skies of Michael Williams’ 12-string guitar provide a most complimentary backdrop for the otherwordly vocals of Mollie Israel (who replaces the band’s longtime lead singer, Danielle Kimak Stauss). While Israel’s voice occasionally belies her youth, her impressively solid debut nonetheless suggests the promise of even better things to come. Choice tracks: “On the Run”; “Homecoming”; “Colors Turn Grey”; “Jukebox on the Moon”.

Now, TLP have introduced a brand-new band t-shirt, available through their website. Also, look for them July 25, 2009, when they play the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, Maryland.