We're all on drugs

Sasquatch holding a balloon, Chloe Hilton

Tropical Yeti Song - The Pharmacy

Turned Into Granite - The Pharmacy

The Pharmacy doesn't sound a bit like Clinic, the first thing that entered my mind when I saw the name (and making me wonder why I've put off listening to the latest Clinic album -- a question for my therapist, perhaps?). But with its skewed pop inclinations, and the fact that the execution of its songs seems secondary, even accidental, to its hyperactive pursuit of silliness, The Pharmacy reminds me a lot of The Unicorns. (And yeah, I wager these guys are probably pretty intimate with the various uses and applications of a wide range of pharmaceuticals. So sure, apt name.)

"Tropical Yeti Song" is less fun than restless paranoia amid the faux-indigenous architecture and planned excursions of one of those hellish island resorts. Keys squelch like PVC-accoutred legs crossing/uncrossing in 95 degree heat and the drums have the dumb, relentless thud of coconuts dropping poolside. "One more hour and I'll be gone," is sung with urgency, but also a rubber-kneed queasiness that tells you the cruise ship doesn't sail for four more days and nobody's going anywhere anytime soon. "Turned Into Granite" offers heartsick, rocks-in-pockets lead vocals and a requiem mass of backing ooh ooh oohs. You too would be morose if you leaned in for a kiss and your paramour turned to stone, and not just stone, but granite -- one of the hardest, sturdiest, most unyielding igneous rocks. High school romances like, totally suck.

The Washington state band (members don't seem to want to commit to Seattle or Olympia) can be found at their Myspace or Website.