The Wheel Workers Hope Beyond Hope For a Future For the Human Race Post-Authoritarian Takeover on Psychedelic Prog Pop Single “One More Thing To Say”

The Wheel Workers, photo by Chad Fontenot

“One More Thing To Say” is the title track to The Wheel Workers’ forthcoming album. Originally written in 2006 with the album essentially unfinished when the band broke up for awhile. But 20 years later with reworked and re-recorded songs it turns out the themes of authoritarianism are unfortunately even more relevant now with fascism ascendant globally. The song with its layers of atmosphere and melody around a solid rhythm and expert pacing is somehow reminiscent of a psychedelic pop band of the 90s coupled with King Crimson circa “Elephant Talk” or Hawkwind in the period represented by the album Quark, Strangeness and Charm. Spectral bell tones drift through as a melody while guitars sketch textures and Steven Higginboth sings about a world being dismantled by power mad political leaders who seem to be guided by nothing but ego and self-dealing but feigning vision except that execution of which is chaos and destruction. Higginbotham’s equally introspective and passionate vocals are reminiscent of Peter Gabriel in moments adding to the art rock feel of the song. But it is a song for the current moment sounding both on edge and clinging to the faintest of hope to navigate perilous times. The music video is part animated and collage stop motion depicting Ruben Ramires traversing the troubled earth and witnessing war erupting and perhaps the final conflict that ends everything. Surely a legitimate concern when a certain American president is talking about using nuclear weapons and the leader of a nation formerly part of the most powerful “communist” nation on earth is hinting and the same. We can only hope none of that comes to pass and that more humane heads prevail. Though the song has a touch of menace and urgency it also suggests that being aware and taking action with a little luck might get us through to better times. Watch the video for “One More Thing To Say” on YouTube and follow The Wheel Workers at the links provided.

The Wheel Workers on Facebook

The Wheel Workers on Instagram

J’cuuzi’s Genre Bursting Psychedelic Post-Punk Single “Greasy Comb” Fuses the Ominous and the Otherworldly

J’cuuzi, photo courtesy the artists

When “Greasy Comb” starts you might think J’cuuzi is doing a lo-fi cover of “Edge of Seventeen” mixed with Sparks. But both impressions fade when the song picks up speed and the bass line waxes more funky and the vocals come in with ominous tones and a second set of vocals, or the first, processed as though through a vocoder. As the song progresses like a mutant post-punk song born of a mix of !!! and Black Moth Super Rainbow it swings into a nearly industrial beat with tracers of distorted, glitched out, melodic vocals as notes. Then the song’s layers of sound drop out into the creeping vocals spare percussion for a moment. The effect is psychedelic and like the band listened to a lot of Tran Am’s 2000 album Red Line. Live the band makes its own outfits and makes a performance art presentation of the music and even the recorded output is an embodiment of a willingness to push beyond genre limitations and standard music forms and structures. Listen to “Greasy Comb” on YouTube and follow J’cuuzi at the links below.

J’cuzzi on Instagram

Strange Fruit’s IDM Shoegaze Single “Monopolar” is Like a Mood Window Into Late 90s Underground Music Hopefulness

Strange Fruit, photo courtesy the artists

“Monopolar” by Jakarta, Indonesia’s Strange Fruit eases into motion with hazy harmonics and swelling and resolving textures and tones. The mood is like a downtempo band that got deep into blissed out shoegaze psychedelia. Yes, there is guitar but the whole songwriting aesthetic is more like electronic music and fans of Seefeel, Black Moth Super Rainbow and the more experimental end of Verve will appreciate the most. It’s like a musical break from the overwhelming turmoil of world events which we could all use a little bit of now. It feels like what the late 90s did in the underground music world with a sense of mystery and an ambient hopefulness. Watch the entrancing video for “Monopolar” on YouTube and follow Strange Fruit at the links below. The group’s latest EP Drips, its first release after about a decade-long hiatus, drops April 3, 2026 via Gentle Tuesday Recordings.

Strange Fruit on Instagram

Strange Fruit on Bandcamp

“Fine” is Cosmic Madness’ Psychedelic Folk Song About Letting Go of Outmoded Habits and Leaning Well Into Where You Want to Be

Cosmic Madness, photo courtesy the artist

The lyrics to “Fine” by Cosmic Madness seems to unspool a narrative of reflection as a means of looking forward, of establishing a personal framing as the foundation of what comes next in one’s life. The guitar and vocal melody interweave and shift in tone from introspective to assertive as the song progresses in a way that feels like something growing and branching out and embracing what nurtures the expansion. The minimalism in the earlier parts of the song fill in with a backdrop of luminous harmonics and guitar allowed to drift in phasing passages that curl around the percussion and rhythm guitar to convey a sense of well being that uplifts the melancholic mood of the song borne of learning to let go of the habits of mind and living that no longer serve the life you want and are already leaning into. Listen to “Fine” on YouTube and follow Cosmic Madness at the links provided.

Cosmic Madness on Apple Music

Cosmic Madness on TikTok

New Wolves Reconciles the Contradiction of Being Comfortable in Ones Restlessness in the Downtempo Psychedelic Pop of “Sleep It Back”

New Wolves, photo courtesy the artists

New Wolves return with the more downtempo pop of “Sleep It Back.” Its languid pace and the subdued but slightly haunting tone of the vocals seem to be set back into the mix slightly yet always forward in arrangement of sounds from the band’s signature almost sound design approach with noises coming in and out of the song to give it a cinematic quality like special effects in a movie to convey a deep sense of place. But the sounds here aren’t random so much as idiosyncratic bits of music like horns, crystalline synth glimmering in the background, whooshes of harmonic white noise, ethereal string lines and the ever present bass line and clipped guitar like something from a Bossa Nova band guesting on a jazz record. It all adds up to contribute to this ever so slightly psychedelic song about being caught between contradictory impulses and not knowing how to reconciling them and settling into not making that choice and being comfortable in being a little restless. Listen to “Sleep It Back” on YouTube and follow New Wolves at the links provided. Look for the debut New Wolves album out Summer 2026.

New Wolves on Twitter

New Wolves on Facebook

New Wolves on TikTok

New Wolves on Instagram

Band of Muses’ “Cinnamon” is Infused With Kaleidoscopic Melodies and Transporting Rhythms

Band of Muses, photo courtesy the artists

Band of Muses infuse its psychedelic single “Cinnamon” with a touch of that hazy Laurel Canyon sound from the 70s. The video utilizes kaleidoscopic imagery while its members are show with a crystal ball and otherwise like Southern California esoteric types, New Age vagabond mystics who generate hypnotic melodies and rhythms that keep you swept up in their colorful, ethereal charms. But around the edges the band trades in choice guitar leads that jangle and transport. Fans of the likes of L.A. Witch with find a similar sonic allure here as well fans of Sky Cries Mary’s more cosmic, expansive compositions. Watch the video for “Cinnamon” on YouTube and follow Band of Muses at the links below.

Band of Muses on Twitter

Band of Muses on Facebook

Band of Muses on Instagram

Band of Muses of Bandcamp