Medicine Hat – Take Your Medicine : Playlist

Something about Medicine hat, the Americana duo from Ventura, California, instantly feels like home. The band, comprising of Michelle Votrian and Robert Ramirez, play music that’s both familiar and filtered through a unique, softly psychedelic lens.

The single “Rear View Mirror” off their latest album, Fences, exemplifies this sort of obscured nostalgia – capturing the essence of looking back, though hazy memories may be rosier than they appear. They got their name from a Son Volt song, and have embodied the longing, wistful nature of their influences with their “lonesome desert rock” sound.

Polly Parsons herself compared the gorgeous steel on the album to the music of her late father, clearly an inspiration for the band. As you’ll listen to this playlist, you’ll agree that their songs transition seamlessly and sound safe at home between songs by the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and even Mazzy Star.

Adding to the sort of mystique I felt upon hearing Medicine Hat, Michelle revealed that their 2015 album Whiskey and Waves features guitar work from fellow Ventura resident Neal Casal. This is why we call it cosmic music.

As we sat down to create this playlist we pondered the direction we wanted to take. With an eclectic love of music from so many genres it is sometimes hard to reign ourselves in and stay focused! Do we go with lesser known favorites? Do we surprise them with an unexpected twist? What’s our theme? Ultimately we decided, that while we may not be giving you something new, we wanted to give you us….the well of great bands that our sound sprang from. These songs from, the big open sounds of Old Black and Neil Young to the jangle pop of Rain Parade and R.E.M. to the luscious harmonies of The Byrds and The Jayhawks are the bands that shaped our sound and style and inspired us to be what we are. We continue to listen, we continue to grow, but these are our roots.

Medicine Hat

You can buy their music directly on their website or find it on all streaming platforms.