Stream: Drugdealer, ‘Fools’

Zane Roessell on February 14th, 2019

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Ever found yourself behind the wheel of a vintage Mercedes convertible, wind whipping through your hair as you whiz through the canyons and wonder to yourself: What should I be listening to? Drugdealer knows. They wrote it.

Drugdealer, the newest outfit of Los Angeles soft-rock impresario Michael Collins (formerly Run DMT, Silk Rhodes, Salvia Plath) serves up sun-soaked portions of canyon rock sure to soothe your wayward soul. This spring he debuts “Raw Honey,” his first album for Brooklyn-based Mexican Summer, following up on his 2016 debut “The End of Comedy.” Leading with the road-trip ready single “Fools,” a buoyant retro-pop gem punctuated with blooms of saxophone, Collins’ almost Skaggs-like vocals (that timeless warbling-croak), all driven by accompanying keyboard and bass with just enough funk to keep your head bobbing.

Although not formally a band, Drugdealer’s “Raw Honey” features the cumulative talents of drummer Josh Da Costa (Regal Deagle), guitarists Jackson McIntosh (Sheer Agony) and Danny Garcia, lead guitarist Michael Long and multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Schwab. Not to be outdone, the album includes special guest vocals from country balladeer Dougie Poole, Harley Hill-Richmond and frequent collaborator Natalie Mering of Weyes Blood, with the whole affair engineered by Mac DeMarco.

Any way you cut it, “Fools” is an modern AM radio classic that begs to be listened to, shades on. “Raw Honey” is out on April 19.

||| Stream: “Fools”