JOVM’s William Ruben Helms belatedly celebrates Lenny Kravitz’s 61st birthday.
Category: Psych Rock
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.”
New Audio: Loving Backwards Shares Freewheeling 70s Inspired Jam
Led by Israeli-born, Ostfriesland, Germany-based frontman, musician and producer, Or Izekson, Loving Backwards — Izekson (vocals, guitar, tambourine and keys), Itay Manber (drums, vocals), Sean Farage (keys, synths and vocals), Dinov (guitar) and Gill Hillman (bass, guitar and vocals) — is an emerging German-based quintet that blends the classic psych rock sound with a modern edge.
Their full-length debut, Rubbish Twilights was released last month with a limited vinyl edition through Tel Aviv-based label ToyBear Records. The album sees sees the German band crafting immersive, expansive soundscapes that unfold like a mind-bending and hypnotic trip through both illusion and disillusionment. Izekson says “I try to think of our debut album ‘Rubbish Twilights’ as a whole, as something larger than the sum of its parts. In that sense,it’s made up of a handful of separate ideas all stitched together – and it works! Or at least so I hope…”
Rubbish Twilights‘ latest single “Nothing But Air” is a decidedly 70s AM rock-inspired tune that immediately brings the likes of Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stones to mind, as well as much more modern fare like Inner Journey Out-era Psychic Ills and JOVM mainstay MAGON. But at its core, the song evokes a freewheeling and very modern restlessness — as though it captures the sense of not quite knowing what else to do but to keep on moving forward.
New Video: Floral Image Shares Mind-Bending Visual for “Burning 305”
Norwich, UK-based psych outfit Floral Image — Fergus Nolan (vocals, guitar), Jack Warner (vocals, keys), Matt Kennedy (bass guitar), Mitch Forsyth (drums, visuals), and Phil Whitton (guitar, visuals) — will be releasing their highly-anticipated full-length debut Gone Down Meadowland on April 25, 2025 through Fuzz Club.
After an extensive touring schedule throughout the course of 2023, the rising British quintet spent the following winter looking both inward and outward to the wide-skied rural landscape of their immediate environs with the aim of distilling their wide pool of influences. As it turned out, once the gigs started to expand outside of Norwich, a fear of musical inertia had left the band asking themselves what their own sound even was. The long nights of their touring break were used to reassess and reconnect with a sense of play that had disappeared while spending hours driving around in a tour van.
During Friday night jam sessions, with the band wrapped in coats and warmed by homemade cocktails, Phil Whitton’s freezing living room wound up providing the cultivation for the begging of a new musical shape for the band — a sound not just intending to be big and formidable live, but one that provides a softer, more subtle recorded companion for drunken hijinks with pals and unleashed self-introspection.
More than ever, the quintet wanted to produce a brand of East Coast psychedelia that reflected the lushness of their natural surroundings and the solitude of their immediate surroundings. Over 30 songs were written, considered and arranged before the band whittled that down to 10 songs that they felt truly epitomized what they do best — vivid hued colors and harnessed live energy and power woven together with fluid, lyrical harmonies inspired by Woods, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Stereolab and others.
Written and recorded over across a string of at-home recording sessions during a six week period of last summer, Gone Down Meadowland‘s material is anchored around a sense of mischief and dreaminess, informed by the band member’s own playful and loving friendship. Sonically, the material bends, grows and shifts between light, dark, malaise and excitement. There are moments of head-down ferocity, punctuated by moments of pulsing awe and wonder.
“Barns, basements and boxrooms across Norfolk were all utilised to unearth the songs from the soil of our collective minds. We practically lived with each other and buried ourselves in the music for what was almost a whole half year,” Floral Image explains. “We would cook for each other, learn from each other and laugh like we never could elsewhere. Even ‘that’ tricky period of cutting songs off went by with all of us in complete faith that the album’s needs seemed greater than our own. If it wasn’t for the fact that recording had almost become secondary to getting actually quite good at Frisbee, we might have been able to release a double LP.”
“A lot of themes are anti-establishment commentaries on the state of the modern world,” the band adds. It can feel isolating being bystanders of global concern in sleepy Norfolk, even though it’s easy to slip into a false comfort when you’re surrounded by vast space, natural beauty and friendly folks down the market. Gone Down Meadowland is that egoless escapist fantasy that still can’t escape the world caving in on itself; Norfolk isolationism.”
“Burning 305,” Gone Down Meadowland‘s latest single is a is a trippy and hook-driven mesh of 60s and 70s psych rock, krautrock and shoegaze, featuring a relentless motorik groove, swirling and painterly guitar textures paired with dreamy falsetto melodies and an arena rock friendly sense of bombast.
Directed and featuring animation by M. Forsyth and live-action camera operation from Alistair Nicholls, the accompanying video for “Burning 305” follows a bored janitor, listening to music on his phone while on the late night shift, when he encounters a discarded virtual reality headset. Once he puts the headset on, he’s transported to a mind-bending, surrealistic, psilocybin-fueled virtual reality world that’s first bright and sunny before quickly turning hellish.
New Audio: Population II Shares Ripping “La Trippance”
Acclaimed Montréal-based psych rock outfit and JOVM mainstays Population II — Pierre-Luc Gratton (vocals, drums), Tristan Lacombe (guitar, keys) and Sébastien Provençal (bass) — will be releasing their highly-anticipated, Dominic Vanchesteing-produced third album Maintenant Jamais on Friday through Bonsound.
The 14-song album reportedly sees the band drawing from their formative influence with a deep, sense of sophistication. The album will feature the previously released “Le thé set prêt,” and “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” a krautrock/prog rock-like take on psych rock featuring pulsating drum patterns paired with glistening synths and fuzzy power chords serving as a lush and languorous bed for Gratton’s dreamy cooing that sees the band subtly — and perhaps playfully — expanding upon their sound while reminding listeners of their adroit musicianship and songwriting.
Just as they were about to embark to Austin to play this year’s SXSW, the trio shared the Dominic Vanchesteing-directed live short film, Carillon — Population II in concert. Shot among the massive, brutalist-inspired concrete monoliths of the Monument québécois à la mémoire des héros du Long-Sault. Recalling Pink Floyd‘s Live at Pompeii, the live footage features the band performing songs in front of a camera eye that languorously floats and circles around the band and the enormous monoliths around them.
Just before the album’s Friday release, the French-Canadian trio shared the album’s third and latest single “La Trippance.” Beginning with a brooding intro that features buzzing Farfisa organ and buzzing synths, the track quickly morphs into arguably one of the album’s heaviest and hardest hitting tracks with Gratton’s drumming merging with staccato guitar bursts and a blazing proto-punk-meets-metal guitar solo before closing out with a brooding and buzzing coda.
Much like the album’s previously released singles, “La Trippance” showcases the French-Canadian trio’s uncanny tightness and musical prowess, while serving as a reminder that they are crafting some of Canada’s hardest hitting and trippiest material out there right now.
New Audio: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Shares Freewheeling “Good Song”
Wildly prolific Israeli-born, Costa Rican-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay MAGON recently released his 11th album Tales of a Mountain Child.
In the lead-up to the album’s release, I wrote about two of the album’s previously released singles:
- Album title track “Tales of a Mountain Child,” a track that possesses the same sort of freewheeling, restless nature reminiscent of early Bob Dylan, Harvest-era Neil Young and Inner Journey Out-era Psychic Ills. And while continuing upon the JOVM’s mainstay reputation for his uncanny knack for catchy hooks, the song captures a familiar feeling for me — the seemingly irresistible push and pull of a life on the road.
- “Outer Darkness,” a track that continues a run of material seemingly indebted to 60s psych rock and 70s album rock, with a dreamy yet introspective air. The result is a song that evokes nostalgia while anchored around a modern sensibility.
Tales of a Mountain Child‘s latest single “Good Song” continues upon the album’s freewheeling nature – and his penchant for catchy grooves and hooks. And much like its predecessors, the song’s lyrics are surrealistic yet paint a vivid picture of late-night musings, fleeting thoughts and playfully odd imagery.
Live Footage: Population II “Carillon — Population II in Concert”
Acclaimed Montréal-based psych rock outfit and JOVM mainstays Population II — Pierre-Luc Gratton (vocals, drums), Tristan Lacombe (guitar, keys) and Sébastien Provençal (bass) — will be releasing their highly-anticipated, Dominic Vanchesteing-produced third Maintenant Jamais on March 28, 2025 through Bonsound.
The 14-song album reportedly sees the band drawing from their formative influence with a deep, sense of sophistication. The album will feature the previously released “Le thé set prêt,” and “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” a krautrock/prog rock-like take on psych rock featuring pulsating drum patterns paired with glistening synths and fuzzy power chords serving as a lush and languorous bed for Gratton’s dreamy cooing that sees the band subtly — and perhaps playfully — expanding upon their sound while reminding listeners of their adroit musicianship and songwriting.
Just as the they’re about to make their SXSW return down in Austin to play a series of showcases, the trio shared the Dominic Vanchesteing-directed live short film, Carillon — Population II in concert. Shot among the massive, brutalist-inspired concrete monoliths of the Monument québécois à la mémoire des héros du Long-Sault. Recalling Pink Floyd‘s Live at Pompeii, the live footage features the band performing songs in front of a camera eye that languorously floats and circles around the band and the enormous monoliths around them.
At the somewhat forgotten, gently weather-worn memorial, their music ricochets among the stelae, out to the river and at night, up to the stars.
“The songs we play in the film are more than live versions,” the band explains. “Although the images seem like they were shot on a beautiful summer day, they weren’t. It was mid-October and the gentle breeze from the river was blowing down our necks and between our fingers. The turbines from the Carillon power station were rumbling, but not louder than the band.”
Throwback: Happy 79th Birthday, David Gilmour!
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates David Gilmour’s 79th birthday.
New Audio: Population II Shares Krautrock-like “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)”
Acclaimed Montréal-based psych rock outfit and JOVM mainstays Population II — Pierre-Luc Gratton (vocals, drums), Tristan Lacombe (guitar, keys) and Sébastien Provençal (bass) — can trace their origin back a long way and are inextricably linked to their teenage memories. After years of jamming to the point of developing a unique sense of telepathy, the trio began recording independently releasing material that caught the attention of Castle Face Records head and The Oh Sees‘ frontman John Dwyer, who signed the band and released their full-length debut, 2020’s À la Ô Terre, an album that saw the band displaying their mastery of improvised and sophisticated composition.
The Montréal-based psych outfit then spent the better part of the next two years touring to support their full-length debut, which included stops at SXSW, Pop Montréal, Toronto, NYC, and Québec City.
Population II signed with Bonsound‘s label, booking and publishing arms. The Montréal-based label released the trio’s Emmanuel Éthier-produced sophomore album, 2023’s Èlectrons libres du québec. Their sophomore album is much more straightforward while showcasing their remarkably adept musicianship and furthers their take on heavy psych rock, which feverish punk rhythms, early punk energy bursts, hints of jazz philosophy and a love of minor scales informed by heavy metal’s early roots.
The album received praise from both press outlets on both sides of the Atlantic, including Rock & Folk, Exclaim!, La Presse, Le Devoir and long list of others. Adding to a breakthrough year, the Montréal-based outfit won a Breakthrough of the Year Award at 2023’s GAMIQ Award ceremonies.
Last year was a very busy year for the Montréal-based JOVM mainstays: They released the Serpent Échelle EP. Released on a limited-edition cassette tape and on all digital platforms, Serpent Échelle saw the band crafting material that boldly stands out from their previously released work: Shifting between orchestrated passages and lysergic-tinged riffage, the EP’s material is wilder, much more adventurous and heavier. And while rooted in their remarkable compositional skills, the material displays a newfound commitment to songwriting. Thematically, the EP’s material touched upon the desperate urgency of life in an age of global doom while still enjoying life’s small pleasures — love, friendship, wine, good tunes and good times.
They closed out a very busy 2024 with Mulchulation II, a split EP with Canadian punks Mulch. Continuing upon a prolific period, the Montréal-based JOVM mainstays laid the groundwork for their third album, the Dominic Vanchesteing-produced Maintenant Jamais. Slated for a March 28, 2025 release through Bonsound, the 14-song album reportedly sees the band drawing from their formative influence with a deep, sense of sophistication.
Maintenant Jamais‘ second and latest single “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” is a krautrock/prog rock-like take on psych rock featuring pulsating drum patterns paired with glistening synths and fuzzy power chords serving as a lush and languorous bed for Gratton’s dreamy cooing. Arguably one of the most krauty songs of their growing catalog, “Mariano (Jamais je ne t’oublierai)” sees the band subtly — and perhaps playfully — expanding upon their sound while reminding listeners of their adroit musicianship and songwriting.
New Video: MAGON Returns with Trippy Yet Introspective “Outer Darkness”
Wildly prolific Israeli-born, Costa Rican-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay MAGON will be releasing his 11th album Tales of a Mountain Child in March.
Earlier this year, I wrote about the album’s first single, album title track “Tales of a Mountain Child,” a track that possesses the same sort of freewheeling, restless nature reminiscent of early Bob Dylan, Harvest-era Neil Young and Inner Journey Out-era Psychic Ills. While continuing upon the JOVM’s mainstay reputation for his uncanny knack for catchy hooks, the song captures a familiar feeling for me — the seemingly irresistible push and pull of a life on the road.
Tales of a Mountain Child‘s second and latest single “Outer Darkness” continues a run of material that’s seemingly indebted to 60s psych rock and 70s album rock, with a dreamy yet introspective air. The result is a song that evokes nostalgia while anchored around a modern sensibility.
The accompanying video features footage from Len Lye’s 1946 animated film Rainbow Dance, further emphasizing the dreamy, psilocybin-like vibe of the song.
New Video: MIEN Shares Menacing and Groovy “Empty Sun”
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 is slated for an April 18, 2025 release through Fuzz Club. The sophomore album reportedly 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.”
Last month, I wrote about “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.”
MIIEN‘s latest single “Empty Sun” 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 comment. “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.”
The accompanying video by the band’s John Mark Lapham features 1960s-styled collage artwork that includes pages from books, irises staring back at you, geometric patterns and more.