SEND MEDICINE is currently a five-piece musical outfit residing in Los Angeles. They make genre blending rock and roll originating in the psychedelic tradition.
For about a decade the band have been flirting with different styles of music including deep-psych to electronic to folk, always with an emphasis on impressionistic lyrics. This process has been partially informed by a rotating collection of members that have weaved in and out of the project since 2011. Their eclectic presence have led the band to open for a wide spectrum of different artists ranging from Tori y Moi to The Warlocks. The current line up of Julian Hacquebard, Ryan Patrick Glennan, Marc Agostini, David Ozinga and Trevor Tallakson has been the consistent core since 2017. The glue that holds them together extends beyond the music, and crosses over into a family dynamic with deep felt respect and a sense of cosmic brotherhood and alchemical friendship. The band was formed by Canadian born; Julian Hacquebard who took the project from Toronto to LA in late 2012.
The band’s newest release; By Telepathy & Reputation is their third full length album which they are self releasing on their own label; Very Possible Records. On this LP you can hear the band’s collective songwriting being elevated by fresh ideas, which include more experimental harmonies, a liberal addition of piano and synths, and other unorthodox twists and turns in the compositions.
“The writing of the album happened to a backdrop of long term relationships ending, while other’s were just beginning, and a band member recently having a child. We were spending a lot of time together, writing riffs, jamming out long form ideas, sometimes going to classes together, experimenting with things, playing shows off the grid, being a support system for each other while we went through big life pivots. It was Spring to Fall 2019. These are all distant vignettes I remember fondly that went in tandem with Telepathy coming to life.
The album was recorded at Stationhouse in LA under the guise of Mark Rains; whose previous engineer credits include Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Death Valley Girls. The album was mixed by band members Julian Hacquebard and Marc Agostini. Agostini’s art can also be seen swirling around the mysterious photo of the band on the Telepathy album cover. “High in the Rain" features the dreamy accompaniment of LA rising star Lauren Ruth Ward on vocals. A few songs from the album were released last year as singles including Scorpio Long Ago, Roses Are Contagious at Dawn and Second Biggest Fan split single with High in the Rain.
By Telepathy… is preceded by 2018’s Mermaids on the Verandah (Honey House Records) which the band toured heavily on in the US, while the album climbed the college charts that summer, and 2016’s Scary Aquarius Daughter (Self Released), which includes one of the bands most loved songs; July Eyes.
Send Medicine have cultivated a healthy following over the past several years in Los Angeles with a reputation for their deep felt live performances which can include heavy doses of percussion, theremin, multiple harmonies and active crowd involvement, as well as critical acclaim for their songwriting. Earmilk said this of their efforts in 2017:
“Send Medicine crafts modern psychedelic pop with an eye and ear to the past, effortlessly evoking more nostalgia in one three minute song than most bands can encapsulate in an entire album.”
The band have been compared to oscillating between 60s West Coast Folk to late 80s Manchester psychedelic. It can be said that people will be moving their hips at a Send Medicine show; leaving most likely turned on, sweaty, and uplifted.
After a productive 2020 locked away in the studio, recording what will eventually be the band’s fourth album, the group is excited to start playing live again in the second half of 2021. The band is also scheduled to appear in a feature length film in the next few months before hitting the road again in May 2022, on an extensive European Tour.