THE BLACK WATCH to Release 27th Album THE FUZZY END OF THE LOLLIPOP

THE BLACK WATCH, the Los Angeles-based indie rock band led by vocalist, guitarist and songwriter John Andrew Fredrick, is set to release its 27th studio album, THE FUZZY END OF THE LOLLIPOP, via ATOM Records. The album's first single, Marie Bouzkova, takes its name from the Czech tennis player but centers on a broader theme of modesty and charm, according to Fredrick.

'I've declared that The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop is really the end of the black watch, but I've been wrong before,' laughs Fredrick. With this their 27th album, one might be inclined to think that all has been said by the band, but for Fredrick who holds a Ph.D. in English, you'd be wrong. 'I'm fascinated by the idea of completion, of endings, but being a mad reader of fiction and poetry, literary criticism and biographies of novelists stimulates me so much. It's all too much, you know. I am so inspired by The Beatles. There is so much there to plunder.'

Armed with a weighty pen and working alongside producer/engineer Rob Campanella, formerly of The Brian Jonestown Massacre (who also plays bass live), and master producer Scott Campbell (Stevie Nicks, Shelby Lynne, Acetone) who's been with the band, on and off, since 1991 and Andy Creighton who joined up in 2017 on guitar, Fredrick has created a sort of approachable pièce de resistance. The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop (release date: October 2, 2026 via ATOM Records) is easily accessible yet stately in its stature.

Its first single 'Marie Bouzkova' is testament to that. While named after the acclaimed Czech tennis player, the song's subject matter is about something more basic and fundamental. 'Marie is very sweet and kind in person, but the song is really about anyone who is lovely and charming and beautiful to everyone--my favourite sort of person, in other words,' he explains. 'Modesty, humility--these things seem to be more and more rare nowadays. Not saying I'm modest or humble, mind you, but I admire both greatly and am trying!'

Set upon a twinkling bed of jangly, shoegazey guitars, 'Marie Bouzkova' is a stunning album opener and the perfect entry point for the black watch's style of indie rock. Remnants of post-punk and janglepop intermingle with a solid melody that grasps hold tightly and never lets go.

The seemingly tangential tennis reference point isn't incidental. A fiercely competitive tennis amateur player himself, Fredrick knows his sport. 'I play at Echo Park Tennis Club, surely the least exclusive club in the world,' he says. '$40 a year to join and we take everyone, no matter the level.' An athletic and social construct, members play against each other regardless of skill level and drink beer together. A tennis instructor as well, he teaches the sport to children. 'I teach tennis for kids now. Some are utter brats, though…. really horrid kids, but some are hilarious,' he laughs. 'Kinda like my theory that only the best and the worst people play adult tennis. Which one do you fancy I am?!!'

The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop's 11-tracks are a vibrant blend of indie rock, dream pop, and shoegaze. 'All of my songs are meant to be consolations for others, for myself, for the vicissitudes of life,' says Fredrick. While he finds inspiration from fellow Los Angeles band Idaho, other tracks wrap around more personal themes, such as 'The Merry Kind' which he says 'limns the quandary I live in daily about how I used to be such a hail-fellow-well-met sort of person, mixing it up and causing minor drama; but now I am a sort of recluse who only goes to tennis courts and recording studios.'

Punctuated by a trumpet that leads the listener by the scruff of the neck, the arresting 'Never You Mind' recalls his favorite band from Liverpool, the Beatles. 'I think that song turned out brilliantly on account of we've been dying to include a piccolo trumpet part a la Magical Mystery Tour from our all-time fav band,' he says. 'I like how we went back to using 12-string guitars on this record. I've been using my Epiphone 12-string a lot these days and it just adds so much atmosphere and Byrdsian tinctures.'

The peculiar album title was pulled from a memorable quote from the Marilyn Monroe film Some Like It Hot. 'I love the line Marilyn says when she's met by the two in-drag principals and she's consoling herself for her love life, lamenting that, romantically, she always seems to get 'the fuzzy end of the lollipop',' Fredrick explains. 'That phrase was too good not to nick. Not saying I have got that end of the sucker. But who hasn't felt that way from time to time? Monroe's natural ability to embody both sexual knowingness and naivete--that's another lost art, it seems. She was a comedic marvel and the belle of everyone's ball.'

Tracklist

1. Marie Bouzkova

2. Never You Mind

3. Sorrow's Crown

4. The Merry Kind

5. The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop

6. Falter, Splutter, Fall

7. Everything Changed!

8. Stars at Last

9. In Generalities

10. Her Halo

11. Sorrow's Crown (Dance Mix)

Garnering glowing praise throughout his career by the likes of Mojo, Shindig!, The Big Takeover and Prog Magazine among countless others, the black watch has created a substantial oeuvre that is notable not only in size but in breadth. With The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop, Fredrick explains, 'Our goal this time was to make a record that was so 'of a piece' that it would be the sort of album that, once it ends, you just have to spin it again. It's meant to be quite terse and flow like a deep and deadly quiet river.'

the black watch is John Andrew Fredrick (guitar, percussion, vocals) Rob Campanella (guitar, bass) Chandler Fredrick (bass, backing vocals), and Andy Creighton (guitar, bass, drums, string arrangements, backing vocals). Their new single 'Marie Bouzkova' is out now. The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop will be released on October 2, 2026. Album pre-orders are available now at Bandcamp.

The album was made with producer and engineer Rob Campanella, formerly of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who also plays bass live, along with longtime producer Scott Campbell and guitarist Andy Creighton.

Photo Credit: Steve Keros

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