Jenny James is an Oxnard, CA-based singer/songwriter, musician painter and college professor at Oxnard College. As a singer/songwriter, James has penned songs that have been recorded by Tanya Tucker, Carlene Carter, The Judds and KT […]
Category: Psych Rock
New Video: King Black Acid and Birdie Swann Sisters Team Up on Darkly Seductive “Rats In The City”
Daniel Riddle is Portland, OR-based is a singer/songwriter and musician, who has written and recorded music under the moniker King Black Acid since the late 1980s, while spending time as a member of industrial outfit Hitting Birth. Since the early 90s, Riddle has led a number of different collectives and projects that have toured and shared stages with Elliott Smith, Nirvana, Low, Moby, Sonic Youth, The Dandy Warhols, Faith No More, Dead Moon, Menomena, The Fugees, Arctic Monkeys, Spacemen 3, Danzig, Nine Inch Nails and more.
Throughout his career, Riddle’s music has been featured on CSI: Miami, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, The Mothman Prophecies, Witchblade, Dream With Fishes, Do Me a Favor and CNN Sports, as well as ad campaigns for Nike, Reebok, Tiger Woods Golf, CNN, Coca-Cola, Abercrombie and Fitch, Gap and The Olympics.
Birdie Swann Sisters is a collaborative project featuring:
- Birdie Moon, a French producer, engineer and musician, who has played with M83, AIR, Beck, The Knife and a lengthy list of others.
- Daisy Rae Swann, an Icelandic producer and singer/songwriter, who has written and recorded material with acts like Coldplay, Florence and the Machine, Gorillaz and countless others.
The Birdie Swann Sisters met King Black Acid’s Daniel Riddle while working on film soundtracks for television/streaming services. Working remotely and trading sound files, the trio bonded over their mutual love of vintage analog instruments, lo-fi guitars and an emphasis on rare synthesizers and drum machines.
Their initial film and TV score collaborations lead to Dream School Dropout, the trio’s 10-song collaborative album. Sonically, the album sees the trio mixing elements of cinematic 80s dream pop, 70s soul and R&B, yacht rock and psych rock into a lush, dreamy tapestry.
Dream School Dropout‘s latest single “Rats In The City” is a slickly produced, hook-driven, club friendly bop featuring glistening and oscillating synths and skittering boom bap that brings Evil Heat-era Primal Scream, Tame Impala, POND and even Midnight Juggernauts to mind paired with darkly seductive, somewhat menacing lyrics.
The accompanying video is a slickly edited mashup of B movie footage, stock footage and psychedelic imagery pulsing and undulating to the song’s propulsive beat.
Throwback: Happy 77th Birthday, Robert Plant!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Robert Plant’s 77th birthday.
Throwback: Happy 86th Birthday, Ginger Baker!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 86th anniversary of the birth of Ginger Baker.
New Audio: Swedish Instrumental Outfit Automatism Shares Languorous Cover of Kraftwerk’s “Neon Lights”
Swedish instrumental psych rock outfit Automatism — Hans Hjelm (guitar), Gustav Nygren (guitar), Mikael Tuominen (bass) and Jonas Yrlid (drums) — will be releasing their long-awaited fourth album Sörmland Friday through German-based label Tonzonen Records.
Five years have passed since the release of 2020’s Immersion. The hiatus wasn’t completely voluntary, so when the band reconvened in September 2023 to begin the creative process for their fourth album, it felt like a special occasion for the band — much like a family reunion. Recorded in a former chapel in the Swedish rural county of Sörmland, the building’s high ceilings and open atmosphere helped set the overall tone of the soon-to-be-released album. As they were recording, they could see the verdant landscape from the building’s tall windows, which inspired them to name the album after the province.
Sörmland‘s latest single “Neon Lights” is an instrumental take on Kraftwerk‘s “Neon Lights.” Clocking in a roughly the same time as the original, which appeared on 1978’s The Man-Machine, the Automatism rendition slows both the tempo and melody down, giving the song a languorous and dreamy, psilocybin-fueled buzz.
“Another one of those occasions when the best stuff comes out when you stop trying,” the band’s Mikael Tuominen says. “We had been working on a version of ‘Neon Lights’ for a while, even played it live, that was much closer to the original in feel and tempo. We did a couple of recordings of that version and they were okay. Then, without deciding anything, we just fell into playing the theme really slowly and softly, and again, luckily enough I hit the red button. First it was almost as if we didn’t take it seriously, but soon we entered the zone, and listening to the versions back to back there was no question of which one to choose.”
News/Announcements: FME Announces 2025 Venue Showcase Lineups
FME announces the venue showcase lineups for the 2025 edition.
Throwback: R.I.P. Brian Wilson
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the life and music of the legendary Brian Wilson.
Throwback: Happy Belated 61st Birthday, Lenny Kravitz!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Lenny Kravitz’s 61st birthday.
Throwback: Happy 82nd Birthday, Jack Bruce!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the 82nd anniversary of Jack Bruce’s birth.
Throwback: Happy Belated 77th Birthday, Steve Winwood!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Steve Winwood’s 77th birthday.
New Video: DÜÜL SUNS Shares Shimmering and Expansive “Jealousy”
New York-based psych outfit DÜÜL SUNS — James Ruffino (vocals, guitar), Kevin Muenzer (bass), Nick Grau (keys, synths, vocals) and Adam Kriney (drums) — specialize in a blend of neo-psychedelic garage rock, soulful and funky rhythms and jazzy/prog rock experimentation paired with dreamy vocals.
The New York-based quartet’s debut single “Jealousy” is a dreamy yet slick mix of 60s psych rock and 70s prog rock, featuring bursts of glistening and arpeggiated keys, Afrobeat and funk-tinged rhythm guitar and jazz-meets-blues rhythms that serve as a lush bed for dreamy melodies and some remarkably catchy hooks and a blazing guitar solo. Ultimately, “Jealousy” reveals a band that has crafted a unique and self-assured take on a familiar sound while evoking a sense of unease and dread.
Directed by the band’s Kevin Muenzer, the accompanying video for “Jealousy” is fittingly lysergic while capturing the sense of dread, unease and distrust at the core of the song.
Lyric Video: MIIEN Shares Dreamy AND Meditative “Mirror”
MIEN is a psych rock super group that features some of the genre’s biggest and most accomplished artists:
- Elephant Stone‘s Rishi Dihr (bass, guitar, keys)
- The Black Angels‘ Alex Maas (vocals, bass, guitar)
- The Earlies‘ John Mark Lapham (keys, samples, programming)
- Golden Dawn Arkestra‘s Robb Kidd (drums)
Since the project’s inception, MIEN has been a confluence of diverse musical influences and shared histories: The band’s origins can be traced back to 2004 when Dihr crossed paths with Maas during a serendipitous encounter at SXSW. That meeting sparked a deep friendship and a series of critically applauded collaborations, including famously, The Black Angels’ 2008 effort, Directions to See a Ghost. Around the same time, Dihr met Lapham, whose electronic and production expertise would later become a cornerstone of MIEN’s sound. These connections led to MIEN, a band that sees its members seamlessly blending their varied musical backgrounds into a unique sound. The band’s newest member Kidd joined on in 2018.
The psych supergroup’s long-awaited sophomore album MIIEN was released earlier this month through Fuzz Club. The sophomore album marks a bold new chapter for a band known for an alchemical approach to their work. Building upon the foundations of their critically applauded self-titled debut, MIIEN finds the band and its members pushing their collaborative and explorative ethos into uncharted territories.
Recorded in studios between Montréal, Abilene and Austin, the psych supergroup’s sophomore album captures a unique creative process: Most songs began as a simple idea — a loop, a vocal phrase or a groove — passed between members and meticulously layered.
The band’s collaborative workflow saw each individual sketch evolving as each member contributed their distinct sonic palette. “It’s an organic process,” Rishi Dihr says. “A simple idea can become something monumental when we each put our stamp on it.”
The album’s creative journey was heightened during key in-person sessions, including an intensive recording period in Austin during SXSW. The rare opportunities for the band to work together in the same space added a dynamic immediacy to several album tracks.
Overall MIIEN represents the strength of the band’s collective vision. Each member brings their unique perspective to the table, creating music that is simultaneously personal and universally resonant. Anchored around richly textured soundscapes and fearless experimentation, the album, purportedly sees the band crafting material that actively bridges the golden age of 60s psychedelia with the cutting edge of modern music. Lapham reflects, “Working with these guys has been one of the most enjoyable experiences in my music career. Our synergy is seamless, and I’m excited to see where this next chapter takes us.”
In the lead-up to the album’s release, I wrote about two of the album’s previously released singles:
- “Evil People,” a propulsive bit of synth-driven psych rock featuring a relentless motorik-like groove paired with Maas imitable delivery and a rousingly anthemic hook and chorus with expressive bursts of reverb-drenched guitar. “‘Evil People’ has its roots in a 2015 collaboration between Alex and awesome Danish musician Trentemøller,” the band explains. “Fast forward to March 2022, when MIEN reunited in Austin for three intense days of recording during SXSW. Given how rare it is for all of us to be in the same room at the same time, the creative energy was electric—music and ideas flowed effortlessly, and ‘Evil People’ was born.”
- “Empty Sun” which features Alex Maas’ imitable vocal floating over a menacing and uneasy motorik pulse with bursts of woozy strings and complex rhythmic patterns, including a breakbeat section that The Crystal Method and The Chemical Brothers would swoon over. It’s arguably the trippiest groove the band has written to date. “Like many of our songs, ‘Empty Sun’ began as a series of loops paired with a lyric-less vocal demo from Alex” the band explains. “From there, Alex and Robb laid down the initial ideas before passing it along to the rest of us. The track sat untouched for a while until John Mark revisited it, shaping it into something new with distinct sections, samples, and layers of Solina string machine. To lock in the groove, Robb returned to the studio, recording what felt like countless drum takes to perfect the complex patterns and make them as “mean” (MIEN) as possible. As the track evolved, Rishi teamed up with Elephant Stone guitarist Robbie to layer in massive, warped guitar textures that brought ‘Empty Sun’ roaring to life.”
MIIEN‘s latest single “Mirror” is a dreamy, lullaby-like song centered around a strummed melodic figure, a shuffling rhythmic pattern, quivering synths serving as a lush, meditative bed for an dreamy and plaintive vocal turn from Alex Maas.
“‘Mirror’ is one of only a small handful of songs that started life when we were all together, which always immediately makes a song feel special to us,” the psych rock supergroup explains. “We generally record in our own separate spaces and swap files, but this one came to life while we were rehearsing for our first tour back in 2018. ‘Mirror’ is the sound of a band coming together and working intuitively rather than logically, and for that it stands out as one of our strongest achievements.”
Lyric Video: Venice’s New Candys Shares Brooding and Forceful “Night Surfer”
Venice-based psych outfit New Candys — core members Fernando Nuti (vocals, guitar, synth and programming) and Dario Lucchesi (bass, synth, programming), alongside newest members Emanuele Zanardo (guitar, backing vocals) and Francesco Giacomin (drums, percussion, sampler) — will be releasing their highly-anticiapted fifth album, the Maurizio Baggio-produced The Uncanny Extravaganza through Fuzz Club on May 30, 2025.
While showcasing the Italian outfit’s newest lineup, the album sees the band marking a bold evolution in their sound, with the material seeing the quartet blending their signature rock roots with electronic influences and cutting-edge production to create a genre-defying experience.
The album can trace its origins back to late 2022 when the band started working on new material. The band’s primary songwriter, Fernando Nuti, recalls, “It was an intense and exciting time. I had many songs and ideas that I wanted to try out with the band, and we ended up debuting ‘Crime Wave’ live. We don’t live close to each other and can’t rehearse very often, so using our home studios became the solution. This new process gave us the opportunity to experiment further, and it allowed me to quickly explore different arrangements to find the best one for each song.”
Dario Lucchesi’s growing interest in electronic music also played a pivotal role in shaping the album’s direction making the transition from drums to bass a natural evolution. “The lineup change and shift to bass created a situation, where I could bring new ideas to the band,” Lucchesi says. “Working alone, with my own pace and methods, allowed me to explore and express myself more effectively. I found it refreshing to play remotely, exchanging projects and seeing the progress of the songs that both Fernando and I could work on, handling all the instruments and breaking away from the roles established on stage and on previous albums.” Their collaboration resulted in album tracks like “Regicide” and “Night Surfer,” with contributions from Zanardo and Giacomin further enriching the band’s evolving sound.
Production duties were handled by Maurizio Baggio, who worked with the band closely throughout last year, spreading the recording sessions across the course of the year to focus on individual track in detail. “After self-producing all our records, except for the first, we wanted to collaborate closely with Maurizio on this one”, New Candys’ frontman explains. “We’re thrilled with the final result. With Vyvyd, we just scratched the surface of electronic elements, this time we wanted to fully embrace them and find a new balance. I couldn’t imagine us finishing a song using only the instruments we normally play live, it wouldn’t have been interesting, contemporary, or new enough. Also, I couldn’t have cared less about making a stylistically and genre-cohesive album. In fact, the less categorizable and the more bizarre it was, the happier we were. I wanted each track to feel unexpected, a constant surprise. Just when you think you’ve figured out what kind of record it is, the next song makes you realize you’re wrong.”
Sonic variety has long been a hallmark of the Venetian outfit’s work — but with The Uncanny Extravaganza, it’s more pronounced than ever with the album’s songs spanning an wider arrange of styles and references. You’ll hear minimal and melancholic tones, Western and surf-influenced riffs, psychedelic codas paired with slick electronic production and more.
Lyrically, the album delves into surrealistic and sometimes cryptic themes with a recurring motif related to water, inspired by the band’s proximity to Venice, the city floating on water. Nuti reflects on how everything underwater transforms and appears dreamlike, distorted, inaccessible and often lifeless. And this imagery is used metaphorically, relating to reality.
The album’s material also conveys a sense of restlessness and rebellion, informed by the COVID-19 pandemic providing the bulk of the world’s population an opportunity to rethink priorities, which most politicians across the world have seemingly missed.
The Uncanny Extravaganza‘s latest single “Night Surfer” is a danceable and hooky bit of garage rock anchored around buzzing power chord-driven choruses and a motorik groove featuring bursts of electronic pulse in the song’s verses, before ending with an explosive coda. While recalling a mix of The Raveonettes and The Stills among a handful of others, the song’s titular night surfer symbolizes the thrill and danger of nightlife in the big city.
“The night surfer is someone who moves through the night, surrounded by its shadows and artificial lights,” Nuti explains. “But when morning comes and the natural sun rises, sometimes it’s better to forget what happened just hours before.”
Nuti adds, “’Night Surfer came together in a unique way, showcasing a tight collaboration between all four members. I had the first verse parts ready as early as 2018, while Dario created the instrumental for the choruses last year, which instantly inspired me to come up with a fresh vocal melody. Merging the two parts ultimately completed the track. Francesco added the mid-song break and gave the drums an energetic, borderline feel. The guitars were recorded by myself, Dario, and Emanuele, who also contributed vocals, creating a dialogue within the song.”