"Psychedelic Garage Pop Punk Tejano Spaghetti Western Surf Soul Rock Music. The Yardbirds, Turbonegro and Ennio Morricone meet in the sands of Detroit.”

Thus read the ambitious original mission statement for The Searchin' Destroyers. It began 3 years ago, born in the mind of keyboardist/sometime singer Drew Finn, grasping at the last straws of his youth. Weary of years on the road as an Environmental/Hazmat tech and realizing there must be a better way, Finn, at the urging of late, great Woggles guitarist Jeff Walls, purchased an Electro 5 and began writing and saving. Finally returning to Athens, GA and teaming up with local guitar legend Kevin Sweeney, they began assembling the skilled and open-eared crew that you hear. In the pocket, heavy rock bassist Bubba McDonald; valued equally for his talent and sense of humor. On drums, Derek Almstead; the hardest working man in the Elephant 6 Collective, appreciated for both his skills and his vision. The lineup was completed when Sweeney “discovered" unknown and untested lead singer Caroline Barfield at the club they worked at together. Blessed with just the voice and cool demeanor they were looking for, the lineup was set, but the specific course was still unknown. All of the aforementioned genres were game, but Girl Group, British Invasion, and of course, a little of that “Detroit Sound" (MC5, Stooges, Radio Birdman) were added to the mix. Make no mistake, the debut album The Misery Hang is a 60's Pop album filtered through all the music they have loved since. Maybe they are an aspiring punk ABBA or Mamas and the Papas. Maybe a garage/psych version of LA legends, X. Lofty goals. Ultimately, some of their influences will recede into the backdrop, and others will grow. Loaded with material, they are playing the long game. But back to the present.

The Misery Hang was recorded in the last half of 2019. Overdubs wrapped up as the Pandemic hit, making final mixing a social distanced endeavor. However, as you will hear, producer Almstead persevered through and delivered the goods, somehow ladling through the soup of endless overdubs and ending up with a Buddah Records like cacophony that lets you hear it a little differently every listen. From the Ramones/60's WWII movie inspired “We're Goin' In," through the four guys-and-a-girl-group Surf anthem “When The Surf Is Up," and into the future with the energy efficiency of “Solar Powered Jet," there is no lack of reverb-laden sounds to grab and hold your attention.

The Misery Hang was released (for now) on their own Gimme Some Skin Records in June 2020 against all odds and reason in the most turbulent of times, but the music must continue. Hopefully, by the time The Searchin' Destroyers get to play a record release show, the world will be a better place. It will take more than a miracle to make Covid “disappear," and it will take hard work from all of us to make systemic racism something of the past, but we stand together against all of these isms that only
lead to schisms. The Searchin' Destroyers will be waiting for you at the other side of this, and we will see you then.
Omega Long,
June 2020

"While we sit around here on our hands waiting for the full length album by The Searchin' Destroyers to come out, we're gonna have to be satisfied with the new single "You Lost Touch With The World”. And, as far as peacekeeping measures go, this'll do just fine. The gentle psych-pop of the tune is reminiscent of both the Los Angeles paisley underground (most particularly The Three O'Clock) and maybe even select tunes that populated LP's by The Monkees, once those dudes were allowed to perform their own songs.
Gordon Lamb, Flagpole Magazine