The Wanderer’s Rest was a garage rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, back in the late 1960s. The band cut a number of singles back in the day, but only in 2020 were all of their singles compiled into an album. I just saw someone post about the band on Reddit, and wanted to listen to some garage rock soon anyways, so it worked out pretty well. Some interesting info I can find on the band was that they were named after a Milwaukee cemetery, and played a mix of garage, surf, teener, and soft-psych rock. I’m pretty stoked to give this one a listen, so with that said, I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
“Anytime, Anywhere” starts out with a really interesting mixture of fuzzy guitars and chirping organs that set the tone for this groovy garage rock tune that seems like has a bit of surf rock and psychedelic rock as the underbelly to the soundscape. Oh wow, I really dig this one. The high energy is nearly tangible through the music, and the accentuations from the guitar in the background change the overall direction of the tune at a couple of different moments. Great tune, and I’m excited to hear more.
“See That Girl” has a super mellow feel in the soundscape, as the electric guitar seems to gradually lay some sweet lines while what sounds to be an acoustic guitar introduces some sweet chords from the background. Oh wow, I really dig how the pacing of this tune feels as the background vocals come in with some sweet “bops” alongside the chirping organs. Super sweet track.
“Don’t Know What I’d Do” starts out with some raw sounding chords from an electric guitar, and is soon joined by a massive sounding bass line that seems to emulate the heartbeat of garage rock. Oh wow, I really dig this tune. The rawness of the guitar chords and the strength of the backbeat, combined with the raw sounding vocals nearly remind me a bit of Them and Van Morrison to some degree. Great tune and infectious energy.
Oh wow, “You’ll Forget” starts out with a bit of a stutter step that gets the tune grooving into what sounds to be something of a soft psychedelic garage rock sound that reminds me a bit of the earlier days of Jefferson Airplane, especially in the realm of vocal performance with the layered chorus vocals in the soundscape. Oh wow, I really dig this tune. Great track.
“In Good Time” starts out with a super tasty bass line, with a somewhat stuttering and raw guitar, as well as a super fuzzed out electric guitar that sounds like it’s from Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”. Oh wow, I really dig this tune. The slide whistle sound adds a super playful effect amongst the heavier and relatively serious sounds of the rest of the instrumentation. Super sweet tune.
Oh wow, “I Love Her” starts out with a super tasty and bright electric guitar that seems to bring the tune into a soft psychedelic swing, especially as the somewhat airy drums come into the soundscape. I really dig the rawness of the soundscape, with all of the instruments seemingly blending and distorting together as they reach their peak volume levels in the soundscape. Oh wow, I really dig this tune. Great track.
“(This Is) The New Frontier” starts out with some groovy guitar work that seems to be a blend of California surf rock and some raw garage rock of the time period. Oh wow, the layering of the vocals has a super sweet sound as different lines fade in and out, seemingly pushing and moving the song even further forward than it’s already going. The drum fills at the end of the tune are super tasty too. Great tune.
“Love Is a Beautiful Thing” starts out with a super sweet combination of garage rock guitars and some sweet organs that almost remind me of a sort of Wilson Pickett sort of sound. Holy smokes, the guitar solo is super tasty, and seems to string together the different instruments with a super playful style. The tambourine adds a great jangliness to the soundscape that only adds to the sweetness of the soundscape. Super sweet track.
“Agripine III” starts out in a style that is nearly unmistakably psychedelic, and reminds me a lot of the style of the San Francisco Bay area bands of the time like Jefferson Airplane or Quicksilver Messenger Service, though there seems to be a sort of surf sound akin to The Beach Boys that the tune seems to follow at times as well. This tune is definitely infectious, and makes me want to grab my guitar and play along. Great track.
“Temptation” starts out with a nearly thunderous rumbling of some bass drums, which seems to introduce a super sweet guitar that nearly has a sort of psychedelic garage rock gallop to its playing style. There’s this swirling effect in the soundscape that you hear often from garage rock recordings of the time period and I really dig it. Really sweet tune.
Oh wow, “The Girl That I Love” starts out with a really patient sound as things nearly seem to winding down as the album is nearing its end. The bass in this tune is infectious; it’s super clear, and has a massive sound that seems to bellow throughout the soundscape. I really dig this tune. The soundscape has a really sweet quality that nearly seems to have a swirling sound. Great tune.
Oh wow, “The Boat That I Row” has a sound that immediately makes me think of Them with the sound of the guitars, while the vocals have a quality that seems to remind me a bit of The New Colony Six, another garage rock band around the same time. Oh wow, this guitar solo combined with the drum beat nearly has a sort of sound that reminds me a bit of The Byrds for a moment. Great track.
Oh wow, “She Was Mine” starts out with a guitar part that makes the tune sound as though it’s going to be an epic track. The band sounds as though they’re making a final ascent up a mountain of sorts, especially with the vocals that seem to continually climb and get higher with the different layers, while the bass guitar seems to groove the tune forward, driven by the sturdy drum beat, while the guitars seem to coax you along. Wow, great tune and a great way to finish up the album.
Wow, this album was super sweet. There were a ton of different garage rock and psychedelic rock flavors throughout the album, laced together with varying amounts of sweetness and surf rock, giving the band a sound both reminiscent of the time period and one that makes for a super enjoyable listening experience when all of these elements combine. If you dig garage rock and or psychedelic garage rock from the time period, and also have any inclination towards surf rock, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A