The Royal Arctic Institute recently released its first release in its current five-piece edition. From Catnip To Coma was recorded and produced by James McNew of Yo La Tengo fame at the Neumann Leather Factory in Hoboken, New Jersey. The EP was released on February 4, 2022 through Alread Dead Tapes and Records. The band’s members are veterans of underground and alternative rock going back to the 1980s: drummer Lyle Hysen (Das Damen, Arthur Lee), guitarists John Leon (Roky Erickson, Summer Wardrobe, Abra Moore) and Lynn Wright (And The Wiremen, Bee And Flower, Shilpa Ray), bassist David Motamed (Das Damen, Two Dollar Guitar, Arthur Lee, Townes Van Zandt), and keyboardist Carl Baggaley (Headbrain, Gramercy Arms). Hysen and Leon formed the group in 2016 with original bassist Gerard Smith recording two albums before dissolving and reforming as a quintet in 2020 just in time for the SARS-COV-2 global pandemic. But the music was fairly different from the music for which the musicians were more well-known in years past and its mix of surf rock, intricate instrumentation and hypnotic rhythms might be compared to psychedelic rock with a cinematic feel almost like sound design written as organic music that envelops you in layers of gorgeous melodies that suggest a narrative even in its all instrumental passages.
We had the opportunity to speak with Hysen and Leon about the project and their long history in music and what lead them to the path on which they’re currently carrying on making music that’s meaningful but maybe not yet finding the large audience it deserves. Listen on Bandcamp and follow The Royal Arctic Institute at the links below and maybe even buy a cassette of the new EP from Already Dead Tapes linked below as well.
The Royal Arctic Institute on Instagram
The Royal Arctic Institute on Facebook
The Royal Arctic Institute on Twitter
The Royal Arctic Institute on Bandcamp
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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