Timothy Leary was a psychologist who advocated for the use of psychedelic drugs throughout the 20th century from his practice at Harvard University. Decades later, an Orlando-based rock band took inspiration from his infamous name to create a hallucinatory musical experience called Timothy Eerie.
The band has been releasing music since 2017, featuring a revolving cast of players and artists contributing to the project, which only lends to their mystique. Its most recent record, "Work Free Drug Place," was released over the weekend. The album lives up to the title, being the musical equivalent of dropping two tabs and tripping to a divinely curated soundtrack.
The band is supported by Hypnotic Bridge and Green Witch Records, and it has shared the stage with such great musicians as Starcrawler, Of Montreal, La Luz, Dead Meadow, Surfer Blood, Kikagaku Moyo and L.A. Witch.
Along with the above accomplishments, Orlando Weekly has said about the band, “Psych oddball Eerie has the potential to hit some Brian Jonestown Massacre peaks in his music with the technicolor path he’s heading down.”
Timothy Eerie is not the psychedelic sound that has historically dominated that area of the musical industry. The band takes less inspiration from The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, and rather crafts its own blend between punk and noise rock with its own psychedelic twist.
The new single is the perfect solution to the current oversaturation of pandemic-inspired bedroom projects in the music industry. It is rather a full-blown, full-band jam taking inspiration from Thee Oh Sees at their most animated, vintage 70s prog-rock and at least one iteration of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard that evolves the band into its true form.
The lead single, "Toad Venom," was mixed by Wand frontman Cory Hanson, and is the perfect exemplification of the album’s mission.
“The title of the song is based on the venom of the Sonoran desert toad which contains 5-meo-dmt -- the strongest psychedelic known to man. The lyrics are about having to deal with uncomfortable experiences,” Eerie said. “But I never think about what a song will be about before I start writing it. It’s more of a stream-of-consciousness approach.”
This stream-of-consciousness aesthetic is evident from the first oscillating guitar riff. The song doesn’t follow any kind of format or style, but is instead a multifaceted culmination of the many different aspects of one's psychology. The song is loud, featuring screaming guitars along with softer, distorted vocals. The song is exactly what one would imagine upon hearing the band's description of their own sound.
Despite the busy and overexcited dynamics of the track, it depicts the band's firm handle on musical technique. The descending lead into the chorus is spooky and captivating, helping the band earn their “eerie” moniker.
Timothy Eerie strives to send listeners on their own frenzied and imaginative journey through their own minds. As the band said, "Toad Venom" is meant to help listeners cope with the uncomfortableness of their own lives, a process which has to include experiencing one’s personal, untamed and wild psychology in its fullest form.
The associated music video, made by Preston Spurlock, adds a whole other dimension of a psychedelic trip. The style is emblematic of vintage anti-drug warning ads. The video depicts a toad living in its own psychedelic world, replete with cartoon animations, satanic imagery, technicolor distortions, pixelated vintage clips and videos of the band performing.
Timothy Eerie is categorized by a sonic labyrinth of energetic guitars, unrelenting percussion and vocal echoes. The combination of the ethereal lyrics and vocals with the visceral nature of the instrumentals is what crafts the whimsical world of "Work Free Drug Place."
“I’m always trying to improve and evolve and my taste in music is always changing,” Eerie said. “I never wanna play the same set twice and, even if we do, it never sounds the same.”
In line with this mantra, Timothy Eerie’s discography is an unpredictable blend of hazy and moody psychedelic melodies and more aggressive styles that lend a garage rock inspiration.
