Stones Throw re-issue imprint Now-Again has gathered the work of this Don Cornelius lookalike and little-known auteur with notes that tell his story: starting as a teenager in Flint, Michigan, Garland played in groups that opened for James Brown and Ike & Tina until members left for Vietnam or beauty school.

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It’s a consistently festive soundtrack for cruising the PCH, frying patacones or shaking one’s nalgas.

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ORIGINAL CUPCAKES @ BLIPSY BARCADE, 369 N. WESTERN AVE, FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 10 PM-2 AM

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There are a lot of bands referencing the past, and that’s a little disturbing to me. I love Deerhunter and Serena-Maneesh, I think they’re great. They strike me as sort of what Medicine was trying to be, this ideal teen makeout music. I think of Roxy Music’s Avalon – was that a precursor to shoegaze because it’s a great makeout album? Maybe!

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Once upon time, codeine cough syrup sold over the counter, Quaaludes on the black market. Kids like me stared at our bedroom ceilings with “Cherub Rock” on the tape deck to match the apocalyptic grandeur of our emotions. Psychedelic pop met industrial noise and gave us the romantic nihilism of Loveless. Rick Rubin’s American Recordings hosted Sir Mix-a-Lot, but also JAMC, Skinny Puppy, Pram and Love and Rockets – and those most American of dark dreamers, LA’s own Medicine.

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Theirs is not “another stupid summer” in the parlance of 50 Foot Wave, but one of soft-serve, cartwheels and tranquil afternoons in a hammock. The production on their self-titled debut is refreshingly clean and the instrumentation minimal, in contrast to both current indie pop bands and the original Wall of Sound. They bring to mind 90s Brit acts like Helen Love or Talulah Gosh—you got it, twee!

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The ennui of off-season cheerleading practice, lifeguarding to save up for a longboard, scheming to elope to Tijuana with my summer camp sweetheart: I can just recall July at sixteen. Neverever have made themselves strangely at home in that moment. They’ll perform this Sunday at L.A. RECORD’s L.A. Zine Fest afterparty, and their new EP Shake-A-Baby is out now on Slumberland. This interview by Bonnie Johnson.

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