The Third Eye

Gourd is a new psych-rock band from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It began as a songwriting outlet during the pandemic while other projects were on hiatus and has slowly morphed into its own full-time entity. 

Inspired by bands like Pink Mountaintops, The Kills, and Mikal Cronin, Gourd uses a base of vintage drum machines and synths to lay the foundation for their music. Songs range from psychedelic acoustic folk all the way to fuzzed-out garage rock. Gourd has released three singles with accompanying music videos and their first album, Vol. 1, which drops today on July 29th on all platforms.

 “Witches Walk Alone” is the latest single and features haunting vocal harmonies over arpeggiated guitar rising to a climax with guitar and synths trading spaced-out leads. Designed to be self-sufficient, you can catch Gourd out playing live solo with drum machines, synths, loopers, and too many effects or in a traditional power trio, depending on the night.

Other songs on Vol. 1 have a definite Eighties feel, such as “Around.” The drum machine lays the foundation, accompanied by a swirling guitar riff, retro synth, and Gourd’s vocals keeping pace with the beat. The beat on “The Figure” drives harder, as does the guitar, feeling like one of the record’s most neo-psychedelic songs.

“Where My Heart Goes” is more pensive and reflective, with instrumentation that wraps around you like a warm blanket. “Shape Shifter” picks up the pace again with possibly the coolest guitar work on the album. The furious pace and jingle-jangle of the guitar surely give the song a garage rock vibe.

Gourd’s new album, Vol. 1, should be a welcome treat for indie psych fans who like to support small, hard-working musicians. It’s a project born from those fraught early pandemic days and has blossomed and come to fruition in The Year of Our Lord, 2023. The pandemic really sucked, but at least it was the impetus for awesome creative projects like this, right?

Support Gourd by finding him on Bandcamp and Instagram.

Parting words: “I’ll never be Bob Dylan. He’s the master.” – Neil Young

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