Hallucinogens and amphetamines would appear to be a dangerous combination. But they seem to work pretty well for San Diego’s Pharlee. This female-fronted quintet call their sound psychedelic speed rock, which pretty much hits that nail square on the head, based on the six tracks of their hard-driving, mind-blowing, riff-riding, fuzz-busting, ass-kicking self-titled debut. If you can imagine a fearsome and fierce vocal powerhouse like Betty Davis leading a muscular juggernaut like Deep Purple circa Burn, you’re ready for their freewheeling jams, pedal-to-the-metal riffage and organ-drenched blues-rock. And if you can’t imagine that, good news: You don’t have to. You just have to cue this sucker up, grab something solid and hold on for dear life.
