Focused on the theme of escapism to avoid the real world, ‘Checked Out’ was born from a manic episode Wesley had. About a year after that event, he was still dealing with the impact it had and trying to optimize his treatment regimen with the help of his doctor.
“I had pretty much isolated myself, not doing much besides working and playing video games,” says Wesley about that moment. “I just felt like I was existing more than living. I had gotten stuck writing the lyrics, so Lu and I took a break and were just talking. I was telling him all this, and somewhere along the way he used the phrase “checked out.” I immediately jumped on that and was able to finish the lyrics. After that, we recorded the vocals, and we were pretty much done, although we would have Albert come in and put down some actual drums during another session. We did it in about 5-6 hours. “
Driven by an impressive ability to convey its soul and moved by rhythmic guitars and visceral solos on a driving carpet of bass and drums, ‘Checked Out’ is a great act silhouetted on that unstable balance, or if you prefer stable imbalance, that might grip people who deal by mental illness.
While everything develops in an organic, apparently perfect way, with a textbook arrangement, incredible riffs and a full-bodied and exquisitely saturated mix that is balanced with disarming intelligibility, in the belly of the musical message of ‘Checked Out’ there is a sense of comatose state, drugged and at the same time cured by a dose of pharmaceutical elements.
Their antidepressant and stabilizing effect, which collaterally also affect the will to live, creates a collision of moods which leads to a spectacular Big Bang of emotions.
So the explosion at the apex of the expressive liberating act of ‘Checked Out’ comes as an incredible and beautiful cluster explosion, a constellation of billions of sound fragments that with irreverent power make our listening experience something amazing.
The release of the single ‘Checked Out’ is accompanied by the launch of the official video, available on Pharmacose’s Youtube channel. An unmissable visual, that makes the communicative ability of this formidable work even more vivid and immersive.