The Third Eye

If a great psych-rock band can emerge from Bloomington, Indiana, it can come from anywhere. That’s the case with Frankie and the Witch Fingers, who have since relocated to Los Angeles but formed in the Hoosier State in 2013 and started as a band playing house parties. Those days are long behind them, and they’re now one of the biggest acts in neo-psychedelia.

The band is returning with their seventh studio album soon, Data Doom, due on September 1st via The Reverberation Appreciation Society and Greenway Records. They’ve released an excellent single, “Mild Davis,” to give us a taste of what’s to come that’s accompanied by an equally awesome music video. The track is inspired by Miles Davis’ early Seventies electric work, and it comes with an odd time signature, delicious riffs, progressive synths, and a “minefield of angular guitar harmonies.” Check out the trippy music video below.

Frankie and the Witch Fingers started more as a garage/indie/punk act, but their sound has become increasingly psychedelic. Their previous full-length album, 2020’s Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters, is the best evidence of this. Like “Mild Davis,” that album is a wild, freaky ride through modern psychedelic sounds, with a relentless pace and frenetic energy.

The new album, Data Doom, should prove to be a continuation of the band’s full-bodied, eclectic sound. And, oh yeah, they’re a perfect band for our current era, as most of their songs and albums lately have taken on the weird political and social climate we’re living in. On Data Doom, “the band hurtles the listener head first into the wood-chipper of technological dystopia, systemic rot, creeping fascism, the military-industrial profit mill, and a near-constant erosion of humanity that peels away the soul bit by bit.” Damn! That’s heavy stuff.

The other single from Data Doom available for listening to now is “Electricide,” which also comes with an awesome music video. It’s a futuristic punk rock on steroids like a baseball player taking human growth hormones and smashing baseballs out of the park. The band somewhat reminds me of King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizzard, another act that seems to have an endless supply of energy and bizarre ideas, and social commentary.

Check out Frankie and The Witch FIngers’ singles off Data Doom now, and pre-order the album on Bandcamp if you wish. I think you won’t regret it. They’re currently touring Europe and will head back to play shows in North America around the time that album drops, including a show in Nashville that I hope I can make. Their live shows are said to be just as impressive as the music.

Support Frankie and The Witch Fingers by finding them on Bandcamp, their official website, or social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).

Parting words: “You can’t ride the rails anymore in this country, but you can follow the Grateful Dead.” – Jerry Garcia