Category: Psych Rock

Video by William Ruben Helms

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:

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.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 65th Birthday, Steve Wynn!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Steve Wynn’s 65th birthday.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstays Psymon Spine Share Two Slick Remixes from “Heady Remix Collector”

Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstays Psymon Spine released their third album, Head Body Connector last year. The album is a gritty, punchy, guitar-forward studio album from a band that’s long been obsessed with production. And perhaps more than its predecessors, their third album is explicitly informed and inspired by the band’s cathartic live show. “It’s more unhinged than anything we’ve made before,” Psymon Spine’s Noah Prebish says. “Throughout the writing process, we were always asking ourselves how we could make it really fun to play live.”  

Ironically, the album, though ready-made to be performed, was mostly written in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The band split their time between various home studios and friends’ back porches in Montauk, The Catskills, Boston and Brooklyn. It was fall and the crisp autumn air, and political uncertainty and disquietude looming in the background lended itself to an undeniable longing for companionship. “It felt like we had collectively jumped from one timeline to another, more bizarre one,” Prebish says. 

The central theme of time being fractured, chopped and screwed is integral to the album’s material and its album art, which was designed by New York-based artist Bucky Boudreau and appears in the form of alternative measurements of passing seconds, minutes, days, lifetimes, tally marks on a chalkboard and infinity signs made of camp bracelets on a cracked egg.“Head Body Connector is our response to a world even more chaotic than usual,” says Peter Spears, “and an exploration of the little joys, anxieties, and absurdities that world has to offer.” While being an ode to the dissonance of temporality in our current moment, it’s also an elastic tribute to friendship and harmony in the face of that dissonance. 

In the lead up to the album’s release, I wrote about:

“Boys,” a track that begins with a glistening New Wave-meets-post punk introduction before quickly morphing into a funky, synth-driven both with slashing guitars. The two seemingly disparate sections are held together with Sabine Holler’s dreamy delivery. But just under the infectious, danceable surface, is an introspective song that reveals a subtle sense of unease. 

The track was written after the band’s Sabine Holler relocated to Berlin, but she still lends her voice to the song. “By nature every Psymon Spine song must be a little cheeky to bypass our own self-criticism, but in reality ‘Boys’ is just a very earnest song about friendship,” the band notes. “Early on in the pandemic Sabine moved back to Germany and we weren’t sure what was going to happen, either to us as a unit or to the entire world. We went to Peter’s childhood home in Boston for a few days and fleshed out a demo that Michael had started a couple weeks earlier. We sent it to Sabine who almost immediately replied with the same vocal take you hear on the song today.” 

“Wizard Acid,” a woozy bit of disco funk built around a punchy bass line, glistening synth arpeggios and thumping beats paired with lyrics about coming apart at the seams — both literally and metaphorically. Consumed with cabin fever, the song’s narrator is slowly losing their mind. 

The band told the folks at Flood Magazine that the song is “part allegory, part nonsense, encapsulating elements of cabin fever, dread and humor. We melded one of Michael’s early demos with one of Peter’s, creating one unholy coupling which eventually took the form of a shapeshifting disco jam. It sat instrumental for a couple months until Peter sent over some lyrics detailing a narrator slowly consumed by their sentient house, or perhaps losing their mind (maybe both?).” 

The JOVM mainstays will be releasing Heady Remix Collector, a bold reimagining of the material off last year’s Head Body Connector. Slated for an April 4, 2025 release through their longtime label home Northern Spy, the album features remixes by some of their favorite artists and collaborators with the album’s tracks transformed into fresh, electrifying soundscapes that are perfect for both the dance floor and deep listening.

“We’re thrilled to share our most eclectic remix album yet: Heady Remix Collector. The name says it all,” the JOVM mainstays say. We asked 8 of our favorite artists to reinterpret songs on Head Body Connector and what we got back was a glimpse into how truly weird and brilliant our friends are.

We generally take a very hands-off approach to the remixes that we commission (the exception being “Love Injection’s Antimatter Kid Remix”, which Noah played guitar on); anytime we ask someone to remix something it’s because we love their work and want them to do their thing. We send out the stems, tell them to freak it, and in a couple months we find a bunch of alien babies on our doorstep.

“For the DJs, we’ve got club bangers from Sam O.B. and GIFT, as well as balearic slow burners from Love Injection and lovetempo. MGMT and Matt FX’s mixes are psychedelic, joyous, delirious. And both This is Lorelei and Disq’s remixes are a stroll through a funhouse, complete with trick mirrors and trap doors at every turn.”

The band shared the first peak of Heady Remix Collector, a double A-side single featuring MGMT’s remix of “Boys” and GIFT’s remix of “Wizard Acid.”

The MGMT remix of “Boys” pairs a chugging motorik-like groove, buzzing and crunchy guitars and twinkling synth oscillations with Holler’s dreamy delivery to create a dreamy and euphoric house music-meets-New Wave take on the original.

The GIFT remix of “Wizard Acid” turns the song into slick and glistening Echoes-era The Rapture/DFA Records dance punk-meets-house music banger with euphoric hooks.

If I were doing a DJ set, I’d play these bangers to get people moving — and if these tracks don’t get you moving, there’s something wrong with you.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Shares Freewheeling “Tales of a Mountain Child”

Wildly prolific Israeli-born, Costa Rican-based singer/songwriter, musician and JOVM mainstay MAGON will be releasing his 11th album in March.

The forthcoming album’s first single “Tales of a Mountain Child” possesses a freewheeling restless nature reminiscent of early Bob Dylan, Harvest-era Neil Young and Inner Journey Out-era Psychic Ills with the song being anchored around a lo-fi motorik-like pulse, shimmering guitars, bursts of mellotron and the JOVM mainstay’s uncanny knack for catchy hooks. The song’s arrangement serves a lush and dreamy bed for MAGON’s equally dreamy delivery. And at its core, the song captures a familiar feeling for me — the seemingly irresistible push and pull of a life on the road.

The accompanying video follows a real life mountain child — Magon’s friend and neighbor José — riding the streets and mountain roads of the town they live in, free, untethered and chasing the horizon. The song manages to further emphasize the song’s freewheeling, restless nature.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Psych Rock Supergroup MIEN Shares Brooding and Driving “Evil People”

MIEN is a psych rock super group that features some of the genre’s biggest and most accomplished artists:

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. 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.”

The album’s first single “Evil People” is 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.”

The accompanying video by the band’s John Mark Lapham and Raz Ullah features scorching VHS fuzz, collages of the band member’s faces, psychedelic art and more.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 79th Birthday, Robby Krieger!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates the legendary Robby Krieger’s 79th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 80th Birthday, Stephen Stills!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Stephen Stills’ 80th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 79th Birthday, John Paul Jones!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates John Paul Jones’ 79th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Blue Foundation Shares Yearning “Close to the Knife”

Founded back in 2000 by Danish singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Tobias Wilner, Blue Foundation was inspired by The Fall’s Mark E. Smith‘s method of forming bands — with Wilner recruiting a rotation lineup of musicians over the years to fuel creativity. But since 2010, the core lineup has been Wilner and Bon Rande, working between Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Copenhagen.

Throughout the transatlantic project’s two-plus decade history, they’ve been renowned for crafting immersive soundscapes with emotive vocals and intricate production that draws from dream pop and electronic music that evokes melancholy and reflection while touching upon introspective themes.

The band has cemented their distinct sound through a series of critically applauded albums including 2007’s Life of a Ghost, 2012’s In My Mind I Am Free and 2016’s Blood Moon, while collaborating with an eclectic range of artists and producers, including Mew‘s Jonas Bjerre, Au Revoir Simone‘s Erika Spring, Findlay Brown, DJ Krush, Sara Savery and Wang Wen among a growing list of others.

Adding to a growing international profile, the band’s work has been featured in Michael Mann’s 2006 Miami Vice and The Vampire Diaries. The band’s “Eyes on Fire,” was included in the Twilight soundtrack. Additionally, their work has been sampled on Lil Durk‘s “Fly High,” feat., French Montana and Young Thug‘s “She Notice.” They also cowrote Machine Gun Kelly‘s “Taurus.”

“Close to the Knife” is the first single from the transatlantic outfit’s forthcoming album. Written by Wilner and Rande and performed by Helena Gao and Wilner, “Close to the Knife” is one-part Scott Walker-era orchestral psych pop, one-part dream pop anchored around a lush yet atmospheric arrangement featuring mellotron flute, soaring strings, strummed guitar and gentle bursts of feedback pared with yearning and dueling girl-boy vocals, which gives the song a fittingly old-timey feel.

The song tells a familiar and bittersweet tale of love and longing for a connection that for can never fully materialize and will always be a bit unrequited. For both narrators, their lover disappears as quickly as they appear, adding a subtle sense of frustration and heartache to the song.

Directed by the band’s Wilner with cinematougrahy by Hannah Bertram and Erma Feng, the video showcases parallel stories of yearning: We see Tobias Wilner wandering the quiet and desolate late night streets of New York City while Helena Gao explores the vibrant yet isolating alleys of Shanghai. The video emphasizes the ache and longing at the core of the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Berlin’s Bloke Shares Trippy and Incisive “Money Says”

With the self-release of their first three singles “Satellite” “Chewed Up,” and “Survivor,” the Berlin-based psych rock/krautrock outfit Bloke quickly amassed a profile across Europe for a unique fusion of krautrock rhythms and shoegazer guitar textures paired with garage punk energy that’s draws from frontman and founder Jakob Buraczewski’s five year stint in London, where the band was originally founded.

The Berlin-based outfit has shared stages with Helicon, Verstärker, Data Animal, Body Horror, The Shadracks have developed a reputation for a raw, intense and noisy live set.

Building upon growing buzz, Bloke’s highly-anticipated debut EP Living Without Expectations is slated for a February 14, 2025 release through Tonzonen Records. The band’s Jakob Buraczewski explains that the EP was “envisioned as the foundational collection of sounds, noise and concepts that would give life to the project Bloke in a musical scene. It was essential for me to ensure that each song resonates with the others, creating an interconnected and cohesive experience. The journey from capturing the essence of the songs in the intimate setting of a home studio to meticulously re-recording each instrument in the refined atmosphere of a professional studio can be quite an emotional rollercoaster. It’s a process filled with passion and dedication, where every note matters and every sound contributes to creating something truly special.”

The EP’s latest single “Money Says” sees the Berlin-based outfit pairing a forceful and thunderous motorik-groove, scuzzy, distortion-fueled power chords and swirling feedback with enormous hooks and choruses. While sonically recalling A Place to Bury Strangers, Hookworms, METZ and others, the song as the band explains is inspired by the childhood game Simon Says, “using it as a metaphor to explore capitalism’s impact on society and relationships. Just as in the game, where commands prefaced with ‘Simon says’ must be obeyed, we often silently comply with what ‘Money Says’ reflecting societal norms. This subtle agreement can feel like conditioning, offering a poignant commentary on our interactions. The melody features a persistent feedback tone and guitar strums that punctuate the social narrative.”

Fittingly, the trippy visual for “Money Says” features moments of commerce and business in super saturated colors.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay MAGON Shares Dreamily Introspective “Circles”

Prolific, JOVM mainstay MAGON closes out 2024 with his third album of the year and 10th album overall, the recently released World Peace. And in the lead-up to the album’s release, I wrote about two, previously released singles:

  • The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses-era Madchester scene-like “Stoned Seclusion Blues” a track that saw the JOVM mainstay revealing another shift in sonic direction.

  • “Falling In Love,” a dreamy psych folk ballad featuring strummed acoustic guitar, bursts of buzzing power chords and ethereal flutes paired with the JOVM’s mainstay’s introspective and thoughtful vocal turn.

The album’s latest single “Circles” is a dreamy, post punk-meets-Brothers In Arms-era Dire Straits like tune anchored around a gated-reverb beat, bluesy and shimmering arpeggios and a soulful horn solo. Thematically, the song sees the JOVM mainstay reflecting on the seemingly unending cycles and endless changes of life with a weary acceptance.

The accompanying video for “Circles” features animation sourced from John and Faith Hubley’s 1986 film The Cosmic Eye.