Cleveland’s Pharmacy Keys to release new album ‘Queen Maybe’

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Two years ago, Cleveland indie-rock band Pharmacy Keys released its debut album “Conjuress” – and just a few days later, “the world literally shut down,” said drummer Justin Waite.

In mid-March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic halted gatherings in Ohio, preventing much of live music from taking place.

“As a band, you’re a little disappointed, because you wanted to play those new songs and that wasn’t an option,” Waite said. “It was pretty quickly decided, let’s write the next one.”

That next recording became “Queen Maybe,” Pharmacy Keys’ second album, releasing on Friday, April 22. Get a sneak peek of the project with the song “In the Flesh,” below.

Singer-guitarist Dave Moran started writing songs for “Queen Maybe” in the spring of 2020, sending clips to fellow Pharmacy Keys bandmates: Waite, guitarist Adam Perkins, guitarist Jeremy Newton-Smith and bassist Nathan Thompson. Then, the group carefully got together for practices, along with Moran’s dog Maybelline (the namesake of the album), working through the songs.

In the summer of 2021, Pharmacy Keys gathered to record in Waite’s basement studio. Brian Westfall, a friend in Chicago, helped with tracking, while the band took care of engineering and mixing the project. Cauliflower Audio mastered the audio for “Queen Maybe.”

“Typically I don’t think it would take us over a year for us to write a full-length album, but because of the challenges of wanting to be cognizant of COVID, we certainly had to find workarounds and really take our time,” Moran said. “I think in the long run it was beneficial because we really thought through everything, nit-picked every little piece that we could. As we call it, ‘Picking the fleas.’ Getting the song right.”

The 12-track project leans into laid-back indie-rock, invoking acts like Spoon and Real Estate, and showcasing Pharmacy Keys’ range. The leisurely “Take His Teeth” and “Indiana Sun” meet peppier moments on “Mostly Blue” and “She Doesn’t Know (Talkin’ Bout You).”

The Cleveland band, which formed a few years ago, coalesced out of musicians who had performed together or supported one another in prior projects. When Moran moved back from a period of time in Chicago, he reconnected with Waite and Newton-Smith, and the crew later brought on Thompson as a member, just in time to make “Queen Maybe.”

With three guitarists in the band, Pharmacy Keys emphasizes simplicity and diplomacy while making music.

“We believe in Dave’s songwriting ability and we all like the same music stylistically. We really pride ourselves on having no egos in the band,” Waite said. “Dave wrote the songs, we dressed them up… Decisions were made really collectively this time around. It was much more democratic.”

Though the pandemic continues to affect the concert industry, Pharmacy Keys aims to host a release show this summer, likely in July, to support “Queen Maybe.” Follow the band on Facebook at facebook.com/PharmacyKeysMusic, and check out their YouTube channel.

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