Well folks, it’s April and that marks a milestone in this blogger’s eyes. That’s right; yours truly is celebrating his Enter the Shell anniversary! Can you believe it ladies and gents? A whole year of Artist of the Week! Now, I know what you’re probably thinking: That guy’s still around? In any case, that’s what I was thinking when I noticed the approach of my year-long stint here (a surprise that I was tolerated for so long by my loving superiors, more than anything). And that’s exactly what I thought when I discovered that our Artist of the Week was still operating. Back on the radar for your Artist of the Week is My Drug Hell.
Formed in the early 90’s, My Drug Hell was Tim Briffa, Dave Preston, and Joe Bultitude. The London-based band, intent on keeping the 60’s alive, had plenty of obstacles in getting their music off the ground. Looking into the story, it’s almost unbelievable given the circumstances. From inheriting money from a deceased grandmother to pay for the recording of their album, to their record companies going under, to having engineers accidentally erase their tracks to band members quitting. Seemingly ages later and what seemed like a hellish life rather than a drug hell, in 1998, My Drug Hell finally released their debut album, This is My Drug Hell.
To say that My Drug Hell is a 60’s revivalist band would be an insult to the band. Writer, vocalist, and guitarist Tim Briffa has lived and breathed the 60’s practically his entire life. While the sound is emulated in their music, if one would listen to My Drug Hell without knowing they were formed in the 90’s, they would think My Drug Hell might have played shows alongside the Velvet Underground. Briffa and My Drug Hell didn’t bring the 60’s back, they simply never left it behind (style, super 8, and 8-track included). The psychedelic/garage sound that the band plays so well along with the solid songwriting is what makes this band so appealing to so many. If ever you wanted to know what indie music was before it became commercial, you’ll definitely dig My Drug Hell.
As mentioned earlier, My Drug Hell’s debut album was released in 1998, and with it came much critical acclaim. Their single “Girl at the Bus Stop” had been granted ample amounts of air time both in the UK as well as here in the US, and they had even managed to land their single in a Miller beer advertisement. Yes, after the initial aforementioned hold-ups with the release of the album, it seemed like things were going well for My Drug Hell…until they disappeared. After their debut album the band seemingly dropped off the face of the earth, only to resurface a decade later with talk of a new album entitled My Drug Hell 2. Thinking the dust had settled and the band gone, this blogger was surprised (and pleased) to find out a new album was on its way (along with a reissue of This is My Drug Hell), and in 2009 they released MDH2. Bringing the same charm and style that they’d done in ’98 and before, My Drug Hell delivered the goods with their sophomore album, and already have promised a third. While they like to claim the release is for next year, given the time it’s taken for two albums to come out, I’m expecting it no later than 2016 (just don’t want to get my hopes up).
Bands like My Drug Hell don’t come around too often, and when they do they’re definitely worth checking out. Though the band seems to be very low-key in their advertisement, it just makes them that much more enticing. Nearly 15 years after their first album and a few after their second, there are still only a handful of people who have been fortunate enough to catch on, but they set a rule that other underground musicians should do their best to follow, and that is that no matter what kind of crap gets thrown at you, keep at it. Get your fix below and enjoy!
Useful Links
Given the lack of sites to check them out on, I’ll post a couple of their videos instead: