Psychic Paywalls comes to us from Wellington, New Zealand, where they play music that can be described using genre tags like indie, alternative, garage rock, blues, and psychedelic rock. On April 4, 2023, they released their debut recording, a six-track EP simply titled Psychic Paywalls EP.
About Psychic Paywalls and their Self-Titled EP
The six tracks on this EP were written and performed by Psychic Paywalls, a band that they say was:
“Formed in 2020 by former Dunedin bandmates Scott Hakkaart (drums, percussion, piano) and Thom Benny (guitar, vocals, percussion, piano), the project began as a casual two-piece jam before adding Kristen Paterson on bass and playing live shows.”
Their Facebook page describes them as a “three-piece psychedelic blues unit funded by a consortium of deep state actors,” but calling them just a psychedelic blues unit only describes a portion of what listeners can expect. Psychic Paywalls also have a bit of surf going and quite a nice indie garage band vibe.
The Songs
“Amoeba” comes across as a 60s British psych song but blended with stoner and pop influences. The overall vibe is upbeat and positive, which is always a treat for the ears, spirit, and mind. I love the guitar tones, the songwriting is exactly what I look for in this genre, and the vocals are performed to perfection.
“Stevedore” opens with more of a stoner blues sound, while the psych takes a bit of a back seat. A jamming quality is prevalent during the first guitar solo section, but the song drops into more of a garage psych feel about 2 minutes in. There are no vocals, making this just over 3 minutes of incredible music!
“Subnet Mask” is a chilled-out track featuring a blues-based style that crosses into psychedelic territory. While those two styles are the most obvious, there is also a garage/indie rock overtone running throughout the track. I loved the slide guitar parts, which add a small Led Zeppelin vibe to the song.
“Virtue Signal” is the first of 2 songs to reach over the 4-minute mark and is one of the tracks that really show what Psychic Paywalls are all about. I hear influences from Talking Heads and Cage the Elephant, among others, making this song the least psychedelic of the 6, putting it more in the indie/garage/noise rock area.
“Egyptian Cat Eye” is the other longer song and is my favorite on this album. There’s a smoothness going on that is very appealing, and that 60s vibe is in full effect, sometimes bringing The Beatles and The Monkees to mind. This is another one that doesn’t include much in the way of vocals, showing that the band doesn’t need the standard song format to put a killer track together.
“Hypernormalise” finishes this album in a way that will surely make listeners want more from this band. I would classify this as an instrumental due to the small number of vocals, which are set in the background and not a part of the song’s focus.
Final Thoughts
Psychic Paywalls is a cool band making music that will appeal to cool people. Their mix of psych, indie, garage, pop, and blues makes for interesting listening and should be able to pull in fans from those and many other genres. I look forward to seeing what they produce in the future, but for now, I will find contentment in this debut EP, which you can find on Bandcamp for the Name Your Own Price option! Enjoy!
Support Psychic Paywalls by finding them on Bandcamp or social media (Facebook).
This review was written by Tom Hanno, who has been writing reviews for the last 7 years but has been sharing his love of music for the majority of his life. Originally starting out at the now-defunct Chimera Magazine, he is currently contributing to Doomed and Stoned, The Sleeping Shaman, The Doom Charts, Tom’s Reviews, and The Third Eye. Read more of Tom’s reviews by checking out his Linktree.
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