For all the love and attention that psych-rock is getting these days – mostly courtesy of and directed toward newish bands like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Osees and Ty Segall – there’s still a dearth of appreciation and respect for some of the bands that established the heady, colorful sound in the first place. They include 13th Street Elevators, Love, Captain Beefheart and – perhaps more than all the rest – Strawberry Alarm Clock.
The band that formed in 1966 in Glendale, California, is perhaps best known for its prime placement in the über-cult 1970 classic movie Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, directed by sexploitation pioneer Russ Meyer and written by Roger Ebert based off a bizarre and beyond-campy story they both wrote. Strawberry Alarm Clock’s best-known song remains “Incense and Peppermints.”
Strawberry Alarm Clock has undergone lineup changes and breakups over the years but is roaring back with a new single, “Monsters.” The song sees an official release tomorrow with the B-side “White Light,” and The Bad Penny couldn’t be more proud to premiere both a day early. The record release of “Monsters” marks the first time a Strawberry Alarm Clock song has appeared on vinyl since the band’s initial stretch from 1966 to 1971.
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