Turtle Skull’s new record, Being Here, is a transfixing mantra wrapped in fuzzed-out riffs and ethereal harmonies. Neo-psych with a pop heart and a doomed soul, the record sheds perfectionism in favor of raw immediacy, a testament to instinct over precision.
Tracked live at NoWave in Mullumbimby, Being Here crackles with energy. No click tracks, no over-layering, just the band in sync, riding the same wavelength.
New member Ally Gradon’s synths swirl like cosmic dust around weighty riffs and propulsive rhythms, shaping an atmosphere that swings between heavy and transcendent. Think Black Moth Super Rainbow meets Idles, with nods to Spiritualized and The Flaming Lips.
Drummer Charlie Gradon sums it up: “Good songs, captured live, no studio trickery. The only overdubs were vocals. Producing and mixing it ourselves nearly killed me, but it was worth it.”
Lyrically, it’s heavy—social media fatigue, time’s relentless march—but there’s hope, a call to presence. Being Here is an album title and a philosophy: be here, feel it all, embrace the weight and the wonder, even the tough stuff that’s hard to handle.
With a March 7th kickoff at Brunswick Music Festival and more tour dates looming, Turtle Skull is set to bring its flower doom ritual to the masses again. Step inside the sound and stay a while.
Being Here by Turtle Skull is set for release on May 23rd.
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