Wendy Stonehenge was best known for his role as the lead singer and songwriter of Glitter Wizard, a fantasy metal band with a long history of memorable gigs. When the Covid lockdown made playing impossible, Stonehenge retreated to the laundry room of his home, where he began composing music. He called his new project Candy Whips. “I had a handful of synths lying around that I hadn’t used much,” Stonehenge said. “It was a good time to start messing with them. I embraced the retrofuturism of the new wave bands I liked in the ’80s. The first Candy Whips album, Automation, was done for a laugh, with a synth on my knees, recording into my laptop. The guitar parts were added by my friend Arthur Tea.”  When Kitten Robot Records offered to release his new music, Stonehenge realized he was onto something.  “As soon as it came out, bookers offered me shows,” Stonehenge said. “I don’t have the expertise to perform solo, or the time to start a band. As other obligations slowed down, I put a band together and recorded another Candy Whips record, Artificial Melodies. “I’d been reading about the history of electronic music,” Stonehenge continued. “In the early days, there was backlash against using synthesizers to create music. A lot of the establishment didn’t think of the synthesizer as a ‘real’ instrument. The album name is a play on that idea.” Artificial Melodies consists of two sections. The first five tunes include the full band; the last five are solo cuts by Stonehenge. “The musicians in the band—David Kertz on keys and synthesizers, drummer Warren Huegel and bass player Melanie Burkett—are longtime friends from the local scene,” Stonehenge said. “Greg [Downing, guitar, backing vocals] played with me in Glitter Wizard.” Stonehenge made demos of the tunes in his home studio. He sent them to the players before the session, so they had time to work on them. Then they got together at their rehearsal space and fleshed them out. “I wrote the rudimentary arrangements, throwing a lot of ideas at the band and seeing what worked,” Stonehenge said. “Everyone had wiggle room to add their own flair. One song, ‘A Drop Will Do,’ was written by Greg. When they were ready to go, we went to my friend Skot B’s home studio at Kempton House and recorded.”  The studio was small, so everyone had to pack in to play the music live. “I was in a bathroom recording vocals, the bass amp was in the hallway outside the room. It was scrappy, but it got the job done. We produced it as a band, with Skot engineering and mixing, adding little tweaks and effects to get the sound we needed.”  The full-band side opens with “The Usher,” a swell of distorted guitar and the wide-open synth sounds of a sci-fi movie soundtrack floating above a stuttering backbeat. Stonehenge sings in an unsettling tone, describing an ominous figure walking through a theater, looking for some kind of connection. A haunting, three-note hook opens “Strange Taste,” a rocker with spacey guitars backing Stonehenge. He describes an encounter between strangers that walks the wire between pleasure and pain. “Same Old Story” has a galloping bass line, screaming metallic guitars, icy synthesizers and a detached vocal, with more suggestions of a troubled relationship. “There’s a hint of S&M here,” Stonehenge said, “but this is not the most perverse song on the album, by far.” The solo tracks by Stonehenge are just as varied. They were done in his home studio, with Tea once again adding his guitar work from afar. “TV Set” brings to mind the fractured rhythms of Devo, with Stonehenge adding a thick bassline. His double-tracked vocals describe someone spacing out in front of the television to avoid the disappointments of real life. “Psyclones” likens inner turmoil to natural disasters, with Stonehenge chanting the dystopian lyrics while Tea plays shimmering fills. In addition to writing most of the Candy Whips songs, Stonehenge books the gigs, promotes, organizes the rehearsals, and does the art and design for the album covers. He also works a day job. “There’s no money in music these days,” he said. “Streaming has gutted the entire industry. A few people can scrape by, if they tour 10 months out of the year, but I’m not interested in doing that. “That said,” he added, “if someone pays to see us play, they’re going to get a show. When the Candy Whips are on stage, it’s big and flashy and fun.” ‘Artificial Melodies’ was released Nov. 5. Order the album at: kittenrobot.com.