Human EyE · natural CHild · King tuff JaCuzzi Boys · HEx ...

story: brian costello
Photography: Miguel angel & clayton hauck
When describing the essence of the Hex Dispensers’
sound, vocalist/guitarist Alex Cuervo says, “Take the most
basic punk rock traditionalism and tried-and-true garage
punk maneuvers and inject just this tiny bit of dissonance
or discomfort into them so they’re recognizable and fun, but
there’s some kind of darker underbelly going on.” Indeed,
over the course of two albums, three 7-inches of their own
and a split 7-inch with Haunted George, Hex Dispensers
have delivered instantly accessible, ridiculously catchy
garage rock in two to three-minute bursts. But when your
songs have titles like “Doomsday Romantic” and “It’s Your
Funeral, Minion,” you know there’s something more going
on than the typical bubblegum teen drama expressed
by bands working on the poppier side of the spectrum.
“The music aspect of what we do is pretty basic. It’s not
surgery,” says Cuervo. “There’s a deep, deep well of
bands who have done the simple, catchy, direct style of
punk rock to draw inspiration from.” Fair enough, but pulling
it off is a lot harder than it looks, and when you hear
a band like the Hex Dispensers, you realize and appreciate
when songs are done right, and when they’re digging
deeper for ideas.
The band’s latest album, Winchester Mystery House,
takes its name from a mansion/tourist attraction in San
Jose, California. According to Cuervo, “Sarah Winchester
believed that the house was haunted by the ghosts of
people who had been killed by Winchester firearms.
She kept obsessively building onto the house for 38
years so that the spirits would get lost in this maze of a
house and never find her. It’s weird and fascinating.”
After releasing more 7-inches in 2011 (including
a Scion A/V split with King Tuff), Hex Dispensers
plan on writing material for another LP. “Hopefully
we can get that recorded this year and release
it in early 2012, before the world ends,” Cuervo says.
thehexdispensers.bandcamp.com
hear the hex Dispensers’ contribution to the scion a/V
Garage 7” series at scionav.com/garage