Druid Fluids is the brainchild of frontman and songwriter Jamie Andrew, who writes, records, and performs all parts of the band’s songs except for some songs. The Adelaide, Australia-based psychedelic bliss pop project released an excellent debut album in October 2023, Then, Now, Again & Again, which has been on heavy rotation for me lately.
Jamie reached out to me and let me know about the record, and I’m glad he did. He says the album’s concept unraveled itself slowly, ending its spool right at the final stages of recording. He realized that each song served as a time capsule, with each spoke with a different narrator.
“Each song was telling me that who we were, are, and will be is ephemeral,” Jamie says. “These earlier versions of myself now often seem quite alien.”
The inception of some of the record’s songs came to Jamie at the ages of 16 and 17, long before the intention of each song came to serve as a fragment of this “demented mosaic.” He says, “I was careful to preserve in the editing the person I was when I first started writing each song. I’ve felt and learned confidence in innocence and humility in reflection.”
So, let’s say that Then, Now, Again & Again is a bit of a portrait of an artist as a young man. Like Joyce, Druid Fluids pulls back memories and works of his youth and refashions him in his older age. The result is an excellent record.
Druid Fluids’ songwriting mantra is to follow feelings rather than be restricted by genre, though he does pull from the psychedelic and pop influences of John Lennon and Pink Floyd, among others. The band’s catalog of original material evokes the most potent tones of pop, psychedelia, and rock ‘n roll.
Since the project’s inception, Jamie has risen in popularity with his impressive audio/visual technicolor live shows in Adelaide’s scene and, more recently, through touring nationally in Australia. Australia has an excellent contemporary music scene all over the country – especially for psych rock – and Druid Fluids is among the many artists putting the country on the map.
All songs on Druid Fluids’ new record were written, recorded, produced, and performed by Jamie Andrew, though he has some help on a few tracks. Eli Biles plays drums on several tracks, Jess Foenander contributes piano, and Oscar Ellery plays sitar on several songs. John Lee mixed and mastered the record.
“Out of Phase” may be the best song on the album, with a sound and groove reminiscent of early Tame Impala. “Flutter By” is notable for the addition of the sitar, giving the Eastern-tinged song a vintage Sixties psychedelia sound. “Eternal” is another throwback with a modern neo-psychedelic spin that wraps us in a celestial embrace with its shimmering melodies.
The track title “Into Me I See” stood out to me, probably because of all the self-help books I’ve read in the past. Druid Fluids’ nod to intimacy is another track that includes the sitar, and a happy, up-tempo beat that once again feels like it was picked out of a Sixties psych playlist. The title track is a song where Jamie is the only one contributing, featuring a surprising Bossa Nova vibe.
“Timeline” features some excellent psychedelic instrumentation, a bittersweet song with touches of melancholy that goes down smoothly nonetheless. “Sour’s Happy Fantasy” is the record’s longest song, featuring a killer guitar riff that would put some stoner rock bands to shame. “Jazzy” is a frenetic mind-fucker that may remind you of KGLW in its breakneck speed.
“Rain Pool/Memory Pool” is a short but excellent instrumental filled with hypnotic melodies and ethereal textures. “La Reverie” is another (relatively) slow jam, perfect for your next cosmic dance under a starlit sky. The album ends with “Layers,” featuring reverberating guitars and layers of psychedelic intricacy.
Overall, Then, Now, Again & Again is a tremendous debut album from Druid Fluids, the Australian psych rocker I imagine is quite young. Fans of modern neo-psych masters like Pond, KGLW, Temples, and others should enjoy this one, as it takes the vintage sounds of the psychedelic past and weaves them into a tapestry of new sounds and colors. I’m looking forward to what Jamie of Druid Fluids brings us next, as his sonic odyssey has just begun.
Check out Then, Now, Again & Again by Druid Fluids on Bandcamp here.
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