Cosmonauts

The California garage punk outfit Cosmonauts coined the term "drug punk" for their heavily distorted and amplified approach, a style built on straightforward yet physically forceful tracks performed at punishing volume. Guitarists Alexander Ahmadi and Derek Cowart, both Fullerton natives from Orange County, launched the project in 2009 after a mutual friend hosted a house show that prompted an impromptu jam session. Cowart later recalled the encounter by noting, "It was almost the same fashion as when the Clash approached (Joe) Strummer. 'I like you, but I hate your band' is pretty much what Alex told me. I was like, 'That's alright. I hate my band, too.'" Bassist James Sanderson III and drummer Cole Devine soon completed the lineup, after which the quartet began developing intense, drone-influenced guitar explorations shaped by Spacemen 3, Sonic Youth, and the Velvet Underground. The musicians achieved their signature thick, reverb-heavy tone simply by running vintage amps at maximum output, a method Cowart summarized by observing, "The Kinks didn't get their tones from pedals, they just blew out their amps. It sounds cooler that way." Within months of their earliest performances the band issued its debut recording, a cassette-only album that Burger Records released in summer 2010. Cosmonauts then embarked on an initial tour, secured a showcase at the South by Southwest Music Conference, and maintained a brisk release schedule that included the cassette-only New Psychic Denim EP along with several 7" singles. Permanent Records of Chicago reissued the first album on vinyl in 2011 and collected the band’s early singles on the cassette-only set Natalie Wilson's Arm. The second full-length, If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die, appeared in 2012, while 2013 brought a reunion with Burger Records for the third album Persona Non Grata. Cosmonauts returned in 2016 with their fourth album, A-OK, an effort that expanded their psychedelic leanings and introduced several dream-pop-tinged, more restrained pieces.