Filling out the band with mainstay members Tres Warren (guitar / vox) and Elizabeth Hart (slinky bass party), were a drummer, a mysterious man on keys, a lap steel conjurer, and even a backing chorus to provide amazing group vocals on songs like “New Mantra”.
Somewhere in the funk, they cast the spell that is “Ra Wah Wah” and the audience woke up 10 minutes later in the middle of the desert beside a dead Joshua Tree.
Finally, the moment came that we all, were waiting for: lead single “I Don’t Mind”, which on record features the aforementioned Mazzy Star’s honey-voiced Hope Sandoval. While Hope didn’t appear on stage to do her part, a woman of similar whimsy slayed in her absence and all was well for one last time…
Now, back to the current reality, I wish the panic and shock I currently feel could have been pondered to this set. Not that I think this music would sooth it away, but massage the plan for next steps—a mantra (not the WiFi password).
Let it be known, this band is a cornerstone of the twenty-teens guitar music experience and a synthesis of old fashioned T-Rex glam and shoe gaze groups. Psychic Ills has a hypnotizing simplicity, elegance, style, and magic that is only getting more rare in this complex age.
