Things have become a lot more straightforward for Los Angeles troupe Warlocks in the two years since their debut Phoenix appeared in a haze of psychedelic noise. For their second effort, Surgery, far prettier noises are apparent for seven-piece’s second trip down memory lane.

Certainly, the musical touchstones of the Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3, and the Jesus and Mary Chain are still readily apparent, but principal songwriter and vocalist Bobby Hecksher has crafted actual songs this time around. That’s the big difference between Surgery and the band’s debut – this time around, they’ve channelled some of their noise into cohesive moments.

The push-pull of “It’s Just Like Surgery” and “Angela in Heaven, Angels in Hell” remind strongly of some of the Ronettes biggest hits from the 1960s, albeit swathed in lathers of guitar and some awesome double-drum power instead of Phil Spector’s wall-of-sound. Teaming with big-time producer Tom Rothrock, Warlocks don’t reinvent the wheel on Surgery, but instead they simply add to the growing list of acts who are pushing a very drone-rock/shoegazer sound, much like the one that was crushed by grunge in the early 1990s. Throughout the course of this sophomore effort they come up with some great musical moments, none more so than the fantastic pop song “Evil Eyes Again”. There’s no doubting that Hecksher is a talented songwriter capable of delivering sme genuine songs, and with Rothrock giving Surgery a far ‘bigger’ sound than the one on their debut release, Surgery positions the Warlocks right alongside the likes of fellow alumni from the Brian Jonestown Massacre to be a big name in rock in 2005.