Medicine

Medicine formed in Los Angeles in 1990 around guitarist Brad Laner, whose signature tone came from running his guitar through a Yamaha 8-track recorder until the distortion took on a metallic shimmer. Underneath the noise sat conventional pop songwriting: male-female harmonies, drones, hooks that survived several layers of fuzz. Creation Records signed them as its first American act, and in 1994 the band appeared onscreen in The Crow performing "Time Baby II," while the soundtrack carried a different version, "Time Baby III," with Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins on guest vocals. Three albums preceded the acrimonious 1995 split; Laner revived the name in 2003 as a duo, then reassembled a full lineup in 2013. The current trio of Laner, drummer Jim Goodall and vocalist Julia Monreal records without label interference and releases at a steady clip, including a self-titled eleventh LP in 2024, with modular synthesis working its way in without displacing the guitars.