I’m in Philadelphia for the final edition of Asian Arts Initiative’s Sound Type Music Festival and Music Writers Workshop. It’s been an odd and very short trip. And it’s probably the last bit of traveling I’ll do this year. I wanted to travel more this year, and I definitely got that.
I head back home in a few hours but in the meantime, there’s still work to do. So let’s get to it, right?
Founded by Jeff Lewis back in 2009, the San Francisco-based garage psych rock outfit The Spyrals — currently, Lewis (vocals, guitar), Georgia Feroce (keys) and Dash Borinstein (drums) — quickly received attention for crating unapologetic garage rock and a loud, live show rooted in the band’s forceful stage presence.
The San Francisco-based outfit’s recently released fifth album Retrograde see the band paying homage to their earliest work while boldly stepping into the future. Retrograde‘s eight songs touch upon themes of isolation, heartache and self-assurance among others. The album’s material comes from several months of jamming and sees the band digging deep into their psych rock roots while continuing to serve up raw, gritty rock ‘n’ roll that gets straight to the point. After self-recording much of their earliest material in practice studios and garages, the band recorded the album earlier this year at Los Angeles-based Station House Studios with Mark Rains.
Retrograde‘s latest single “Dream Believin'” is an anthemic and loud bit of psych rock that brings Phosphene Dream-era The Black Angels to mind. And much like the acclaimed Austin-based JOVM mainstays work, “Dream Believin'” thematically focuses on the remarkably contemporary — capturing the unease and desperate desire to escape of our current moment.
The accompanying video for “Dream Believin'” features a mysterious black-clad figure wandering the beach. At one point we see the black-clad figure peering into a mysterious tablet.
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