A smoldering psych-rock seduction, the sonically and emotionally charged “Boys” heralds a bold new era for Psymon Spine – one full of raw passion, spellbinding sonics, and fiery, feverish wonder.
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Stream: “Psymon Spine” – Boys
Brooklyn’s Psymon Spine can always be counted on to douse our ears in layers of thick, intoxicating synth-soaked psychedelia, but no one could have predicted the tight pop prowess or the pure sonic heat radiating throughout the band’s latest release.
Leave it to a notoriously experimental group to dip their toes into the land of big topline melodies, irresistible hooks, and 4/4 time signatures – and to do it all while oozing an alluring, infectious confidence, thanks in large part to bassist Sabine Holler’s absolutely stunning vocal performance. A smoldering psych-rock seduction, the sonically and emotionally charged “Boys” heralds a bold new era for Psymon Spine – one full of raw passion, spellbinding sonics, and fiery, feverish wonder.
Cycling around and I’m gonna lose it
It’s never too late to know
What I’m not supposed to show
I’ve got the right to an answer
Just like a wavelength you cannot hear
And it won’t disappear
The kind of stuff you just learn on the go
I’ve got the right to an answer
I couldn’t read it in a book
Released October 10, 2023 via Northern Spy Records, “Boys” is a catchy and captivating reverie – an ode to friendship and, in particular, the band’s own tight bonds. Formed by Noah Prebish and Peter Spears in the late 2010s, Psymon Spine – also comprised of Brother Michael Rudinski – are a longtime favorite in our pages, as well as an Atwood Magazine artist-to-watch.
The beautifully left-of-center experimental outfit have evolved and transformed tremendously over the past eight-plus years, treating listeners to two phenomenal LPs (2017’s You Are Coming to My Birthday and 2021’s Charismatic Megafauna) that push the boundaries of whatever anyone chose to call them at the time. Fans can always rely on a Psymon Spine record to feel all-consuming and feature deep grooves; how they get there, and what they do with that is anyone’s guess.
Because ultimately, with a band like Psymon Spine, words just don’t do them justice. Seeing – or in this case, hearing – really is believing.
(After this day’s over)
I wanna hang out with my boys
(We hope something happens)
I wanna hang out with my boys
(Come back, see us often)
I wanna hang out with my boys
(We hope to see you again)
I wanna hang out with my
I’m so lonely
So lonely
“Boys” is Psymon’s Spine’s first proper single of the year, and sees the band passing the mic (usually held by Spears) to former Psymon Spine bassist Sabine Holler, all to great reward. Also formerly a member of psych pop band Barrie (which she played in together with Noah Prebish, before both left in 2019), Holler injects heaps of visceral, intense emotion into a moment of connection, longing, and platonic love:
You couldn’t be better now
Without what you were before
It’s a matter of thoughts
And they change you like drugs
I’ve got the right to an answer
I couldn’t find a better hook
“By nature every Psymon Spine song must be a little cheeky to bypass our own self-criticism, but in reality ‘Boys’ is just a very earnest song about friendship,” the band tells Atwood Magazine. “Early on in the pandemic Sabine moved back to Germany and we weren’t sure what was going to happen, either to us as a unit or to the entire world. We went to Peter’s childhood home in Boston for a few days and fleshed out a demo that Michael had started a couple weeks earlier. We sent it to Sabine who almost immediately replied with the same vocal take you hear on the song today.”
“Lyrically, the chorus of Boys is probably the most straightforward thing we’ve ever written,” they add. We just missed our buddy. It only took us 11 years to be able to sing about our feelings without as many weird metaphors. The verses are another story, though. As Mitch from Atwood knows, our first record was a lot more guitar-forward than our second, and it was fun to get back into that zone for this tune.”
Thanks for the shout-out, boys.
(After this day’s over)
I wanna hang out with my boys
(We hope something happens)
I wanna hang out with my boys
(Come back, see us often)
I gotta get out while I still have a choice
(We hope to see you again)
I wanna hang out with my
Released alongside a trippy, sleek music video (directed by Bucky Boudreau), “Boys” is an impassioned, hypnotic, and hard-hitting fever dream.
Sweltering guitars and glistening synths roar around Holler’s entrancing vocals as together, she and her bandmates capture the depth and breadth of their special bond – and the weight placed upon it during their pandemic-era displacement.
Intimate, immersive, and all-consuming, “Boys” is a truly cinematic enchantment. We can’t wait to hear what Psymon Spine come up with next.
(After this year’s over)
I’m so lonely
(We hope something happens)
So lonely
(Wrinkling in time often)
Germany to USA
To the Psymon Spine spaceship
(We hope to see you again)
Can you hear us, Captain?
Transmission out
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Stream: “Psymon Spine” – Boys
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© Nicole "Neptune" Miller
© Nicole "Neptune" Miller
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