Kevin Bronson on September 9th, 2019

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Long Beach quartet Highlands make hallucinogenic space-rock that could be the beverage for washing down whatever was really inside Spiritualized’s “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” packaging. Theirs is the kind of music that puts the daze in Desert Daze (which they played, way back in Year 1).

The band — Scott Holmes, Beau Balek, Justin Ivey, JP Bendzinski — is also the latest signing to Exte Records, which will release Highlands’ new album “Wish You Were” on Nov. 1. It’s the first full-length from the quartet since “Dark Matter Traveler” in 2014.

“Dr. Ron” is the lead track on the new album, introducing itself with a hypnagogic guitar riff and adding layers until it’s floating on clouds of fuzz. If the tones don’t bathe you in existential ennui, the song’s mantra reminds that “Just who we are … no one has an idea.” “‘Dr. Ron’ was the first song we wrote for ‘Wish You Were,’” Holmes says. “The song was built from the swirling riff that anchors the whole song in a way. We layered guitars in and around that with different amps, effects and guitar combinations until they were just right.”

Chad Huff’s video gets it right, too. Interspersed with psychedelic performance scenes, Holmes is filmed taking a slow walk down an alley, passing oblivious people who are busy living their lives. The video stars the band, along with Branden Tighe, Heather Finch, Jay Diebel and Dustin Lovelis. “The video features our Long Beach friends throughout and came together with all of their support behind the scenes,” Holmes says. “We are so fortunate to have such a supportive network, and this video is all the more special because of them.”

||| Watch: The video for “Dr. Ron”