Members of local Madison band Dolores have a lot on their minds as they come off of the tour for their latest album, Peach Fuzz. The dreamy, psychedelic rock outfit that garnered local recognition from the esteemed Baraboo-based PHOX via a Twitter shoutout has struck a balance on their latest offering. They’ve arrived at an even more mature sound while maintaining the uniqueness they established in their first EP, Nectar Fields.

On Peach Fuzz, the band has again proved the adept musicality revealed in their first offering, but has arguably produced a greater work with tracks mining further into the depths of the contemplative mind. And while a clear psychedelic backbone finds itself in each track, a more mature Dolores in Peach Fuzz is not afraid to sway a bit further from their original formula.

The Beginning

Dolores rose to recognition in the local scene rather quickly. Keyboardist Adam Thein and vocalist/guitarist Javier Reyes met in Minneapolis in 2011 at a guitar store. Bassist Willie Christianson — Reyes’ roommate at the time — then joined the outfit. After the release of Nectar Fields, the group landed what turned out to be a packed Monday night gig in October, with added help from a PHOX shoutout before the show.

“More people than should have showed up for our first show,” Thein said. “We [set up] honestly like two shows ourselves. Everything else we’ve done beside the tour has been from emails coming to us.”

The Album

Roles switched after Teddy Mathews joined in fall 2014, leading to a fundamental change in the band’s sound. “Oh No” bears a familiar and lamenting 60’s-esque vibe while “You got it” partakes in a pounding rock, something it seems they originally aimed for in their first EP but couldn’t put out due to a smaller drum presence. The band even wraps up their album with a ragtime and nostalgia infused track, “Time.”

But for all the experiments in style, Dolores proves to step up its signature psychedelic sound with an inflated use of synths and keyboards. For example, “Mary” builds up from the relatively predictable before bursting into a kaleidoscope of colorful sound closely encircling the track’s core melody.

Despite the band’s satisfaction with the new album, they said producing it came with its challenges. The fairly-new musicians were not accustomed to the production’s inherently rigid structure.

Mathews said aligning work schedules with the recording process proved to be a challenge, and every member agreed they probably stressed themselves out more than necessary.

“I think we put a bit of pressure on ourselves accidentally by telling people we were working on putting out an EP,” Thein said. “Anytime we were together there was a pressure of ‘We need to get this done.'”

The End?

But what came to the forefront in our conversation was the possibility Madison’s music scene will suffer an all-too-sudden loss of psychedelia as Thein contemplates leaving Wisconsin to follow his long time girlfriend.

“Sometime this summer I’m probably moving away from Madison, and we haven’t really talked about what that means for the band, or if it will continue in this way,” Thein said. “The plan right now is just to continue making recordings and put those out.”

But July 13, in a email to Isthmus, keyboardist Adam Thein confirmed his plans to leave Madison. To add insult to injury, he revealed Reyes will move to Chicago by the end of summer for work.

“…We’re all on good terms, and unfortunately we have known this was coming for a while,” Thein wrote. “I think we all wish the circumstances were different, but, as you know, life happens.”

While Thein did acknowledge Christiansen and Mathews are working on a new project, it looks like Madison’s budding psychedelic rock band will have its life cut short. They’ve scheduled one final Madison show at the High Noon Saloon July 22 and will perform at People Fest in Hillsboro, Wisconsin August 6.

The Madison scene will live on after Dolores splits, but not without consequences. As a band that began to thrive in Madison just as much from local connections as their impressive musicality, similar young bands in town — namely The Great Duck War and Trophy Dad — will have one less example to look to.

Regardless, Dolores’ psychedelic legacy will live on in the Soundcloud‘s of loyal fans.