Grave Flowers Bongo Band

Gabe Flores fronts the psychedelic Los Angeles collective Grave Flowers Bongo Band while maintaining his role as guitarist in Hooveriii and his standing among West Coast psych regulars. The outfit originated in 2018 as a semi-acoustic trio that drew from the freak-folk approach of early Tyrannosaurus Rex and the unsettling aura surrounding Charles Manson. Within three years the ensemble had transformed into a high-voltage electric psych rock force, delivering its second album, Strength of Spring, under the production guidance of Ty Segall.

Flores looked to little-known 1970s outfits such as Shagrat and Sam Gopal when assembling the project with bongo specialist Vaughn Christensen and bassist Andy Caly. Their aim was to probe the darker corners of campfire psychedelia, prompting the Los Angeles unit to stage a limited number of performances before issuing its debut, the cerebral Flower Pot, through the boutique Permanent Records imprint. On that recording Flores supplied vocals, guitar, saxophone, and assorted sonic textures across an array of experimental passages, yet the overall focus stayed anchored in acoustic psych. Upon resurfacing several years later, the group broadened its range to embrace weightier styles including proto-metal and punk while preserving its expansive character. After securing a deal with Castle Face Records, the band enlisted Ty Segall once more to shape the sessions that yielded Strength of Spring in early 2021.