Otherworldly Things couldn’t have had a better start in the music business than opening for the Buzzcocks on their debut gig. They had honed their sound in BC Studio in Brooklyn and their brand of 60’s influenced heavy pop splashed with some psychedelic paint manages to hark back as well as pay it forward.
Joyzine readers have the chance to hear their new EP Heavy Dream Cycle first, breaking a 7-year gap with 2017’s Beeline to the “A” List mostly due to the same pandemic-hiatus that blighted so many bands. Jim Browne of the bands explains:
“I wrote ‘Tired of Monsters’ in 2020 when you couldn’t turn on the news without seeing one form of monster or another. I wrote ‘No Use’ shortly after. We first recorded those two songs, along with ‘Work Out Right’, which I had written much earlier. On this song, I play a repeated note on the very violin that my grandfather bought with him when they moved from Ireland to Harlem in 1926,”
“Having just three songs recorded, I thought to myself that this is neither a single nor an EP. Then I wrote ‘Time Turns to Memories’, a big-sounding recording that we pulled out all the bells and whistles for. I had the song ‘Escape’ kicking around for a long time. I recorded it live to tape at Jason’s and said it needs some ambient noise added. Jason picked up a cello, which I didn’t even know he owned and laid down a great track. That’s when I knew we had a complete and really good EP.”
Tracks like ‘I’m Tired Of Monsters’ and ‘No Use’ swim in the same pool as MC5 adding heft to pop in a similar way Vanilla Fudge added the heavy to Motown classic ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’ filling them with catnip riffs rubbing up against splashy drums and tight harmonies. ‘Work Out Right’ has the dampened Carol Kay bass and enough guitar jangle to put a smile on Ray Davies face and ‘Time Turns To Memories’ has some Tom Verlaine DNA in the guitar runs. The final track ‘Escape’ ends the EP with Jim Browne solo, riding out on the melancholy twang of acoustic guitar and atmospheric cello. If you like your tunes rubbed with a little sandpaper and wearing DM, not Chelsea, boots then dive in.
Heavy Dream Cycle is officially released on February 16th, available on streaming services or ordered directly from the band.
Jim Browne – Guitar, Lead and Backing Vocals, Violin
Matt Revie – Guitar, Keyboards, Glockenspiel
Jason Binnick – Bass, Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Cello
Travis Harrison – Drums, Percussion
All songs written by Jim Browne
Otherworldly Things socials: Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify | Amazon |
Introduction by Paul F Cook
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