Cult Favourites The Sonics to Release Their First Album of New Material Since 1967. (NOT a Typo)

If you’re a fan of American garage band music, there’s no way you’ve never heard of The Sonics. They came out of Tacoma in 1960 and were a big part of that rough and raw underground sound that became so important in the development of punk and power pop a decade or so later. And if you watched Dave Grohl’s Sonic Highways, you’ll have seen the nod he gave to The Sonics in the Seattle episode.

Here’s a sample of The Sonics at their peak back in 1965.

The Sonics stayed together until 1969 before breaking up for three years. Another stint ran from 1972 to 1980 before things collapsed again. But then there was another reunion in 2007 that continues today.

The last time there was a Sonics album was in 1980 when they released a collection of re-recorded songs from the 60s. Their last album of original material was Introducing the Sonics in 1967, forty-eight years ago. That hiatus is now coming to an end with the impending release of This is the Sonics on March 31.

Question: with a gap of forty-eight years between Introducing the Sonics and This is the Sonics, has there been another musical artist that has gone longer between releasing new material? The Guardian investigates here but I’ve already covered that.

My list has UK folksinger Vashti Bunyan as the holder of the Long Time No See Award at approximately 35 1/2 years. The Sonics’ hiatus blows that away. Anyone care to challenge that?