Pickwick’s new album is straight out of the basement

written by Ben Salmon

Writing and recording an album is hard enough without scrapping forty songs at some point along the way. But that’s exactly what Pickwick did while making its sophomore full-length, LoveJoys.

According to frontman Galen Disston, the veteran Seattle band was tinkering with its creative process and you could hear the strain in the material they left behind. “Our best songs come in a burst when we’re all together in the basement, open to following whatever direction the song takes us,” he said.

So Pickwick returned to its old ways, cranking out a batch of new songs from the basement. The result is LoveJoys, which tightens up the band’s buzzy rock ‘n’ soul, giving it a funkier, more polished feel while retaining plenty of Pickwick’s characteristic grit.

By letting go, Disston said, the band found its way.

“It became obvious to all of us as the songs came that we were moving in a different direction,” he said. “And I started to feel good again.”