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Formed in Santa Barbara, California the day after frontman John Andrew Fredrick saw a London band called The Lucy Show play to seven people at a State Street club, the black watch have made 11 CDs of dreamy, beautiful, literate indie pop: "the hypnotizing sea," "very mary beth," "jiggery-pokery," "the king of good intentions, "lime green girl," and "amphetamines," among others, including the NEW LP, "tatterdemalion"--all of which are available from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, or from your friendly neighborhood indie store or Virgin, and which are distributed by CARROT TOP DISTRIBUTION and PARASOL RECORDS. 2005's "the hypnotizing sea" is out in the UK now and available from SHELLSHOCK UK, and getting wonderful reviews, but it's also available in the United States from www.notlame.com, www.parasol.com, www.insound.com, and www.tonevendor.com.
"Nine albums and more than a decade after forming in Santa Barbara, the black watch continue to deliver beautifully crafted alt-rock drenched in British indie grooves. New full-length ICING THE SNOW QUEEN harkens back to the lush melodies and chiming guitars of The Smiths, The Cure and Blur, as frontman John Andrew Fredrick reinvents Californian guitar-pop in the image of rain-soaked England. Garage psychedelia ("On Another Plane"), leftfield indie ("Quarz Pink Cloud"), aching acoustica ("The Jean Rhys Appreciation Society"), and laidback fuzzpop ("Peppermint") roll effortlessly into one another on a beautifully well-rounded album. ICING THE SNOW QUEEN is an intelligent, articulate piece of work with a fiercely independent edge; fresh, exciting, and utterly contemporary, it's the sound of a band still very much in love with making music."--Toby RogersSkyscraper Magazine
"A particularly good primer for the uninitiated, the AFTER THE GOLD ROOM CD/EP again affirms the black watch's prowess as indie pop auteurs. The rollicking "Strawberry Girl" sets the standard, while "One For the Republicans" bewitches with its title and tune. Two songs are reprised from ICING THE SNOW QUEEN--and sharpened via remixing--for those who missed them first time round. A teaser of things to come, this fine EP provides a continuation of the arched but articulate template the black watch established a while ago; tbw's great music seems to come like clockwork!"--Lee Zimmerman, Amplifier
"After AFTER THE GOLD RUSH, the classic 1970 LP by LA's Neil Young, apparently comes AFTER THE GOLD ROOM, the latest tasty slice by modern-day LA indie pop vets the black watch. The John Andrew Fredrick-lead foursome may have celebrated the 20th year anniversary of their debut LP ST. VALENTINE, but this little six-songer is more sterling proof that tbw's last 10 years have been their best. It helps that Fredrick has a stable, superlative lineup, with half of power pop heroes Velouria (including bassist/producer Scott Taylor and drummer Rick Woodard) and ex-The Chills and Clay Idols lead guitarist supreme Steven Schayer--brother of Bad Religion drummer Bobby. This sitch allows Fredrick to dash off mini-LPs like this one (with four new songs and two fascinating remixes from last summer's ICING THE SNOW QUEEN), successfully plundering his two habitual loves: 1) the My Bloody Valentine buzz treatment given to Robyn Hitchcock-loves-John Lennon on the lead track, "Strawberry Girl" and 2) the crisp neo-folk of the bouncy, wry send-up "One For the Republicans," or the solo acoustic romanticism of "When Lauren First Opened." Fredrick sings: "Do you believe in love at second sight?" In the black watch's case, i do! this is another winner, and cheaply priced too!--Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover
"The immensely enjoyable ICING THE SNOW QUEEN is blessed with all the familiar tbw hallmarks (brainy-yet-romantic lyrics, folky dreampop leavened by searing fret buzz) and powered by uncommonly meaty production courtesy of bassist Scott Taylor. The opening title track signposts the mainly aggressive approach. In a voice reminiscent of The Go-Betweens' Robert Forster, head Watchie John Andrew Fredrick puns his way through a series of frigidity and death metaphors as a swirl of distorted/feedback guitars erupts atop an insistent Feelies/Velvets-like pulse. Several other tracks follow this model ("On Another Plane" ventures beautifully into My Bloody Valentine territory), and there are enough downtempo, Beatle-esque ("Peppermint") and acoustic, English folk ("Quite Contrary") moments to ensure a crucial, dynamic flow."--Fred Mills, Magnet
"With a vocal style that rivals Robert Smith's, John Andrew Fredrick writes the dreamiest pop songs this side of My Bloody Valentine."--SplendidEzine
"Hazily low-key psychedelic dreampoppers the black watch deliver--in "Icing the Snow Queen"--their best record yet!"--LA Weekly
"With its bracing swarm of guitars and the off-kilter expressiveness of John Andrew Fredrick, the black watch's 13th CD, "Icing the Snow Queen," is wistful and narcotic; the informal urgency of Fredrick's as well as Scott Taylor's distorted guitar work creates an improbable lulling air, a chaotic hallucination that inspires contented passivity. The trippy sound becomes even more interesting when it wobbles, rhythmically and vocally, like warped vinyl--especially on "Quartz Pink Cloud" and "Kindly Remind Me" as Fredrick charmingly (some might say annoyingly) strays in his delivery. There's an honesty enhanced by literate lyrics, fetching melodies and a major juxtaposition of moods. "Icing" may not make the black watch a household name, but it'll surely inspire a niche following as well as confirm what the in-the-know already know: this is truly beautiful indie pop."--Knoxville News Sentinel
"A critic's delight yet still somehow under the radar, the black watch once again lend thoughtful, highbrow, intelligent chops to the nearly dozen songs on "Icing the Snow Queen," especially on the urgent "On Another Plane," the delicious "Apres Lisette" with its sweet harmonies and guitar accents as it glides beautifully along, the bubbly, Beatleish "The Love of the Buzz," and gentle but gorgeous My Bloody Valentine-like "Peppermint."--Popmatters
"John Andrew Fredrick, leader of this highly intellectual Beatlesque band, says outright that "Icing the Snow Queen" is about death; yet this is not a dark or depressing record. Instead, much of the material is lovely and expressive warm, fuzzy pop. Obvious influence: "Rubber Soul." Yet "On Another Plane," "Jenny Holly Wally Martin," and "Peppermint" drive along with great big distorted, oddly tuned guitars. The overall effect is picturesque, dreamy-floaty pop. With its illustrious history, the black watch is what fans of nebulous indie rock absolutely dream of."--JerseyBeat
"Swirling guitars, acidic lyrics, super catchy melodies--the black watch are like a dream combination of The Dukes of Stratosphere and My Bloody Valentine--whoa!"--Amoeba Music
"the black watch has never sounded like this. Wow! John Andrew Fredrick's LA foursome once had me calling them America's Go-Betweens, yet "Tatterdemalion" is the loud guitar, cranking bass and stamping drums LP they've never fully attempted. The opening title track will open minds and mouths, scaling six-string altitudes where Echo & the Bunnymen melds into The House of Love--with a swatch of Fredrick's My Bloody Valentine fondness on "Autoportrait" and "The Lost Colony of Roanoake." "Williamsburg employs Jesus and Marychain/Cure fuzz--the guitars are airborne with beautiful reverb and delay. THIS is what guitar effects were invented for: to cascade, reverberate, expand and tantalize. Marry this to Fredrick's compositional knack for smart poptunes, and you have this great, unexpected alt-rock guitar-rock LP."--THE BIG TAKEOVER
"the black watch remains, after nearly 20 years of making music, both intriguing and exhilarating. The group's sound continues to be both provocative and just out of reach.
From the woozy title track that sounds more than slightly off-kilter to the cosmic clutter of "The Lost Colony of Roanoke" to the wistful "Covers the Bummers" and lilting "Never Know"--songs that reinforce the band's more melodic sensibilities--one can only hope that, after eight albums and half as many EPs, the black watch's time has finally come."--AMPLIFIER
"Why is this excellent LA band so loved in the UK? Have a listen to their new "Innercity Garden" EP. My vote for anthem of the summer? the black watch's "Innercity Garden." It's like a giant swing that lands you on your own secret party in a cloud."--LA WEEKLY
"Los Angeles has not produced a band like tbw in a long time; they have, in singer/songwriter/guitarist John Andrew Fredrick an artist capable of both My Bloody Valentine miasma and Nick Drake quietness--with literary allusions from Shakepeare and Dylan--to whimsical,nursery rhyme plafulness. It's a shame that they are relying on a tiny label out of Dorset to get their fine melodies heard."--ANDY GILL in THE INDEPENDENT UK
"the black watch is the best band you've never heard. "Innercity Garden" burns the house to the ground with its grinding, fire-alarm guitar riff."--MAGNET
"Remember the first time you heard XTC or The Cure? Discovering the black watch is precisely what is evoked by such memories. "Tatterdemalion" is a triumph of jangly-fuzzy beauty--the latest in a long string of stunningly catchy records."--TUCSON WEEKLY
"Hailing from Los Angeles they may be but indie rockers the black watch seem to be taking a few clues from Britain. Close in tone to what the Kaiser Chiefs are doing, the black watch write pop songs first and foremost, sometimes clouding them in walls of dissonance, sometimes in guitar freakouts. Frontman John Andrew Fredrick sings in a rich baritone, his lyrics acting as mini stories, his vocabulary stretching further than your average rocker--a kind of cross between Jarvis Cocker, that guy from Doves, Morrissey and Dylan. THE HYPNOTIZING SEA marks the band's UK debut album, and an intoxicating collection it is too. Kicking off with the single, "Innercity Garden," tbw sound like My Bloody Valentine meets Doves--delicious guitar abuse anchored by joyous choruses and deftly delivered melodicism. The equally enchanting "Buttercup Fairchild" is a sweetly sung pop tune that takes frequent sidesteps into swirling noise, while the self-explanatory "Dylan, Dylan, Dylan" skips along with an acoustic jangle and a harmonica to keep you company, with Fredrick spurting forth lyrics like "visions of johanna/ made me truly see/ that that little Zimmerman/ is of great help to me." It's a love letter to a musical hero. In a similar vein, "The Teacup Song" saunters along with gentle acoustics, while the very lo-fi "Willing to Wait" makes Guided by Voices sound like overproduced major label lackeys. The quirky "Another Summer Coming" somehow puts one in mind of Noel Coward, while "Story of Your Life" finds the band taking a more straightforward approach, with shimmering guitars and gentle drumming coming together in this dreamy love song. A satisfying and intoxicating collection of classy pop tunes, THE HYPNOTIZING SEA is a record that snuggles up to you and begs to be loved. Quirky in places, heartfelt in others, the black watch make music that's the aural equivalent to a Technicolour daydream."--UK MUSIC SEARCH
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after the gold room EP
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Icing the Snow Queen
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Tatterdemalion
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Very Mary Beth
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jiggery-pokery
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