Big Stir Records is deeply honored to bring you the first full album of new music from psychedelic rock pioneers STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK since 1969. The new album WHERE'S ONE? returns the band to the pinnacle of the genre they helped to invent, with a lineup unmatched for its authenticity including five original members, and decades of performing and songwriting chemistry on display. Previewed in recent months by the hit indie singles “Monsters,” “Blow Your Mind” and “The Sky Isn't Falling,” WHERE'S ONE? hits record stores in a Deluxe Double LP edition and as a CD, as well as streaming on all digital platforms worldwide, on August 7, and it's up for pre-order/pre-save now:

https://orcd.co/strawberryalarmclock-w1

STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK's forthcoming album WHERE'S ONE? would be remarkable enough as the first collection of all-new music from the psych-rock legends since their '60s heyday, but there's much more to it than nostalgia. The band's current lineup is almost certainly uniquely bonafide among their '60s peers, featuring five members from their original run of four albums from 1967-1969: MARK STEPHEN WEITZ (keyboards), RANDY SEOL (drums/percussion), GEORGE BUNNELL (bass), GENE GUNNELS (drums/percussion), and STEVE BARTEK (guitar, flute, sitar and production, also well-known as a founding member of Oingo Boingo) plus guitarist HOWIE ANDERSON who's been a full member since their 1986 reunion. The decades of musical chemistry are a key part of what keeps the band so compelling to fans of all ages, onstage (as evidenced by the multigenerational crowds attending the band's live shows, often at the Whisky on LA's Sunset Strip where it all began) and on this record. But what makes WHERE'S ONE? so much more than just a trip down memory lane is a sense of adventure, experimentation and ambition that few from their generation can conjure with such thrilling results.

Unquestionably, the '60s spirit is here. You can hear it immediately in the immaculately sunny a capella harmonies of the opening track “Feel The Love,” as well as in the full record's sparkling instrumental arrangements featuring period-perfect touches of their signature swirling organ, sunshine pop flute, electric sitar, lacerating acid rock guitar and groovy percussion. But as the needle drifts into the second track, the captivatingly ominous “Monsters” (appropriately released as the album's first preview single last Halloween), it becomes obvious that STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK are here not to relive former glories but to push the psych-rock form ever forward with new ideas, fresh sounds, and unexpected reinventions. It's a revelation driven home by the next track, a dramatic deconstruction of “Day Tripper” that lets listener know to expect the unexpected: in a world of power pop bands trying to sound like The Beatles, the Alarm Clock play The Beatles like Devo plays The Stones, here and on a delightfully skewed reading of “Within You Without You”. By the third track, “White Light” – a musically and emotionally raw journey that blends psychedelia and dream rock with intense, near-metal riffing and stunning harmonies – the restless creativity of SAC in 2026 is abundantly evident, aptly summed up in the opening lyrics: “Where am I going? What will I do when I get there?”

Where we're going is deeper into the dazzling kaleidoscope of musical styles, concepts and sterling melodies that make up WHERE'S ONE? It's all rooted in the band's original brand of '60s psych – check out the Nuggets-worthy garage bounce of “Blow Your Mind,” already a hit on the global indie airwaves earlier this year – but there are touches of many musical idioms that followed, and drew upon, Strawberry Alarm Clock's original work. You'll hear gorgeous chamber pop strings under the direction of in-demand orchestrator Bartek (“Since You Have Gone Away”), angular guitars recalling the postpunk and new wave years, and bright harmonies that evoke the best of '70s AM Gold (“The Sky Isn't Falling”). There are intricate prog rock-adjacent time signatures (“I'm Not The One,” “White Light”), Beefheart/Zappa-inflected art rock (“Primordial Soup”) and grooves worthy of '70s funk and '90s trip hop (“Live Water,” “Monsters”). There's even time for a sly take on exotica in “Tahitian Gardens” before the Alarm Clock close the album, saving the trippiest for last with “Galactic Symphony – Persian Skies,” an extended psychedelic workout written by the full band together and featuring a spoken-word performance by Stephen J. Kalinich, the legendary poet laureate of the LA '60s pop scene.

It's all breathtakingly fresh for a band nearly sixty years into their career, playful and experimental but shot through with consummate tunefulness. What binds it together is the time-tested chemistry of the players, and a connection greater than the sum of its considerable parts, as GEORGE BUNNELL explains: “WHERE'S ONE? was not intended as a concept album but as it turns out, I guess it is. I think it’s about family, life and love. Howie wrote 'Since You Have Gone Away' about his mom coming to him in a dream, and 'I’m Not The One' about his kids leaving the nest. Randy wrote the lyrics to 'White Light' about his father appearing to him in his car while driving, and 'Live Water' about the good fortune of meeting his wife Beverly. Mark wrote 'Blow Your Mind' about his girlfriend. David Glück wrote the lyrics to 'Monsters' about his ex who is still his best friend, and 'Primordial Soup,' which refers to bridging the gap between inorganic matter and biological life, human, plant, animal and otherwise. Every song is like that. The album tells our story, which is a long one, about life long relationships and life in general.”

“As for the title, WHERE'S ONE?” Bunnell continues, “After all this time you’d think the Clock would know. That’s the great thing about music, you’re always searching for that elusive something. I love it when someone brings in an idea and we start exploring and expanding on it. We all have one thing in common, and that’s to find what a song idea can turn into. It keeps us going. We’ve found that if we are open minded, a good song will open itself up to us. This is the album we wanted to make. We’ve poured our hearts into it. As our own Steve Bartek (co-producing with Michael Stern) kept reminding us, we’re not looking for perfection... we just want a great-sounding album, but not at the risk of losing its heart and soul and sense of humor. I think we’ve accomplished that.”

Bartek himself agrees: “This album is a testament to the power of long-lasting creative relationships,  despite interruptions of time and distance. We are always searching to connect to each other as we play... and land together on 'one,' occasionally.” On their first new album for this century, the legendary STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK stick that landing like few others of their generation could. Nearly sixty years beyond “Incense And Peppermints,” it's a true joy to hear them in peak form.