Fragments of Psyche

"...Feels like a mix of This Mortal Coil and Leonard Cohen meet The Black Watch." - Torched Magazine

Fragments of Psyche, released July 20, 2018 on Hollow Earth Recordings HE023

10 songs of dreamy, dark pop music which will transport the listener straight to a place of greatness.

As you would expect with a couple of songs mixed by legendary producer/engineer John Fryer, this collection delivers the dark synthy dream-psych.

What does it sound like? So many things. If Bowie and Zappa had a love child. Or if Spacemen 3 did a collaboration with Joy Division. Or Peter Murphy singing for the Sisters of Mercy. Or if Love and Rockets bred offspring with New Order.

Really, it sounds like a new twist on the good old days.

Available at all the usual streaming and download spots.

Track Details:

1- Dream Walk I (Odyssey)- A take on an old familiar tune. This one happened very quickly, on a rainy day in March.
2- Dream Walk II (Soft and Sparkly)- An older tune which has been floating around since 2014 A meditation on dreams. Contemplation of what lies beyond.
3- Dream Walk III (FA)- 29 years ago I wrote the bare bones of this one. It was, at the time, a tribute to a ladyfriend. After a lifetime of life it was rediscovered, and I realized it needed to be finished. The things that remain from the original version are the chords and the drum beats. Things were very different in 1989. This takes that idea and makes it current. New technology and new skills. I wrote 10 drafts of the words trying to get things right. With over 50 tracks of audio and programming, this one was a real beast to make.
4- Rising- The original concept was nicked from a T-Rex song, but it ended up finishing out much differently than intended.
5- Waiting Watching- Mixed by John Fryer. A sister piece to Watching Waiting, which is pretty much the instrumental version. This song came into being one morning, and a couple months later I was moved to apply lyrics and additional production to it. When it became whole, I knew it was ready for Fryer to mix. He graciously agreed. And the end result is perfect, just as I had envisioned.
6- Always Never Now- Meditation. Drifting. Falling. Floating. I miss your eyes.
7- Moving- This song arrived late, with a fury I've never experienced before. 6 days before the scheduled release of "Fragments of Psyche" this one stuck itself into my head and wouldn't let go. So instead of spending the days finalizing and mastering the record for release, I made a new song. Honestly, this one arrived in completed form all at once, and it was difficult to get it out of my head and into the studio fast enough. Lyrics are a bit older but inspired by actual events and actual people, if you're tracking things like that.
8- River's Edge- Mixed by John Fryer. A day after seeing Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, I sat down with a guitar and tried to do something awesome. It started to happen. And then it very quickly turned into this. I realized later that I had nicked the chords from Bob Dylan, who I was listening to a lot at the time. But it's nothing like his tune. Anyway, lots of great contributions and input from wonderful friends and family. Most notable a great set of lyrics from Justin Evans. Featured vocals by Ischa, Background and choral vocals by Sara Beazer, Bass by Kyle McCann, Piano by Kevin Maynard. Fryer's mix really brought it to life. Review by Torched Magazine HERE Featured on Torched Magazine's Top Pics for 2018 list
9- Book- One recent day, a friend told me that she had read some stuff in her old journals which had to do with me. Suddenly I realized that there are people all over the place who have written about me in the books of their lives, and I don't get to know what's there. So I wrote this in an attempt to come to terms with all this. Also, a chance to make a mushy la la love song. The music was a jam I picked out on my guitar one day. It came out almost whole from day 1.
10- Dream Walk IV (Fragments of Psyche)- At first creation, this was an instrumental drone jam designed to set up a mood on the album. Then it got drums. Then it stole words another song. (it's ok, the other got new ones) Then we named the album after it.