Wednesday, February 9, 2011

One of my favorite discoveries from the gone-but-not-forgotten Side One Track One podcast was Mind Spiders. The band is a side project of Mark Ryan, the songwriter and guitarist for The Marked Men out of Denton, TX. Since his main band was on a hiatus, Ryan set off to create something different from the power punk that The Marked Men are known for. Last year Mind Spiders released a four track home recorded EP which featured Ryan handling more of the instrumentation as well as the songwriting.  Now, after receiving a ton of critical acclaim for the EP, the band is back with a self-titled full album.

So, does the album live up to the promise shown on the EP? You bet it does. It’s a brilliant mix of garage pop, punk, lo-fi psych, and even a bit of shoegazer. There’s great hooks throughout, but also enough distortion and spacey weirdness weaved in so that the songs never lose their edge.  Plus, the songwriting is fantastic.

Personally, I prefer songs such as Don’t Let Her Go and Mind Spiders Theme which remind me of Jay Reatard and Kurt Vile, but the record isn’t all fast paced, lo-fi burners. There’s a healthy helping of 60’s retro pop which Ryan masterfully mixes in along with a variety of other musical influences. It really makes for a record that merits repeated listens, and I’ve be doing just that as I look forward to catching the band at SXSW next month.

:Mind Spiders - Don't Let Her Go:

:Mind Spiders - World's Destroyed:

- Dan Corbin -



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