Alternative rock supergroup Crystal Fairy came together in 2016, uniting Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover from the Melvins with Omar Rodríguez-López from At the Drive-In and the Mars Volta plus Teri Gender Bender from Le Butcherettes. The project originated during Le Butcherettes’ support slot on the Melvins’ 2016 summer tour, when Gender Bender appeared nightly for a closing performance of Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” alongside the headliners, consistently emerging as the evening’s high point. Rodríguez-López, already credited as producer and guitarist on Le Butcherettes releases, joined the others amid the tour and proposed that the four musicians form a band. With that suggestion accepted, the lineup coalesced around Osborne on guitar, Crover on drums, Rodríguez-López on bass, and Gender Bender handling vocals. The group, possibly drawing its name from the 2013 Chilean comedy-adventure film that starred Michael Cera, secured studio time in El Paso and L.A. to develop and track its debut album. The resulting self-titled record carried a sonic resemblance to the Melvins, marked by sludgy riffs, pounding drums, and a subtle psychedelic atmosphere, yet Gender Bender’s free-association lyrics and swooping, sneering vocals supplied an additional dimension that evoked a punk version of Kate Bush. The album appeared in early 2017 through Mike Patton’s Ipecac imprint.
