Crystal Fairy

Alternative rock supergroup Crystal Fairy was formed in 2016 by Buzz Osborne and <a href="spotify:artist:4IRzt4Zde0xpbbc2BtsRGm">Dale Crover</a> of the <a href="spotify:artist:6aVjo0xHSiuW5hkasoYSR3">Melvins</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4ANigmoglCpG6sHgfT1hkB">Omar Rodríguez-López</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:5E2rtn57BM2WPjwak4kGd5">At the Drive-In</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:75U40yZLLPglFgXbDVnmVs">the Mars Volta</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1gCFXILfdAiZcFAwGsfj9Z">Teri Gender Bender</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:1d7CbKqK4lFpKyU442bZC6">Le Butcherettes</a>. The seeds of the band were sown when <a href="spotify:artist:1d7CbKqK4lFpKyU442bZC6">Le Butcherettes</a> supported the <a href="spotify:artist:6aVjo0xHSiuW5hkasoYSR3">Melvins</a> on their 2016 summer tour and <a href="spotify:artist:1gCFXILfdAiZcFAwGsfj9Z">Gender Bender</a> got up on-stage every night to do an encore of <a href="spotify:artist:0gvHPdYxlU94W7V5MSIlFe">Bikini Kill</a>'s "Rebel Girl" with the headliners, which became the highlight of the evening. <a href="spotify:artist:4ANigmoglCpG6sHgfT1hkB">Rodríguez-López</a>, who had produced and played guitar for <a href="spotify:artist:1d7CbKqK4lFpKyU442bZC6">Le Butcherettes</a>, hooked up with the others on the tour and floated the idea that they should all form a band together. The rest, as they say, is history. With Osborne on guitar, <a href="spotify:artist:4IRzt4Zde0xpbbc2BtsRGm">Crover</a> on drums, <a href="spotify:artist:4ANigmoglCpG6sHgfT1hkB">Rodríguez-López</a> on bass, and <a href="spotify:artist:1gCFXILfdAiZcFAwGsfj9Z">Gender Bender</a> on vocals, the quartet -- possibly named after the 2013 Chilean comedy-adventure film starring Michael Cera -- booked studio time in El Paso and L.A. to begin writing and recording their debut album. The material on the resulting self-titled effort was closest in tone to the <a href="spotify:artist:6aVjo0xHSiuW5hkasoYSR3">Melvins</a>, with sludgy riffs and pounding drums, and a faintly psychedelic feel, but the real added value came from <a href="spotify:artist:1gCFXILfdAiZcFAwGsfj9Z">Gender Bender</a>, whose free-association lyrics and swooping, sneering vocals gave the impression of a punk <a href="spotify:artist:1aSxMhuvixZ8h9dK9jIDwL">Kate Bush</a>. The album was released early in 2017 on <a href="spotify:artist:34Ai24gPz5YJ8NbksiNFef">Mike Patton</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ipecac%22">Ipecac</a> label. ~ John D. Buchanan, Rovi