"A blanket, a banquet (head rush, head rush) / A long blink, a panic (head rush, head rush) / A signal, a silence, flickering and fading / A sea wall, a trap door, a dead bolt, a bed sore..."
In our ever so fleeting lives there are all kinds of art that run the gamut of fast food to fine dining. Depending on circumstances and need we can gobble up Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift or we can feel, ponder, steep in Radiohead, Phoebe Bridgers or Yes We Mystic. At the end of the day or (one day) at the end of our lives will it even matter, will it impact the way we see things, will it enrich those around us, will it effect our soul quotient? Oh, fuck yeah.
Step into 'Head Rush' from the upcoming album 'Trust Fall' by Winnepeg's art rock outfit Yes We Mystic and the density of sonic art might take you aback. If the song, was from start to finish, was like the 'It's A Small World' ride at Disneyland your head would be constantly pivoting. The "rush" part of the song is appropriate. It feels at times like a fever dream and at other times just like a dream. I have said, since I started writing about music in 2009 that songs are sonic Rorschach tests, that they reveal more about ourselves than the artists that produces them, at least good songs are so it was nice / interesting to see that the band's songwriter/vocalist/producer Adam Fuhr expressed the same sort of thing at least in regards to this song.
“Musically, it includes a lot of familiar sounds for us — driving off-kilter rhythms, soaring strings, spindly guitars, and robust bass synth, this time coupled with something brand new to us—a saxophone solo.” explains Adam Fuhr, “The verses are clusters of disparate images, which act as a type of Rorschach test — any paths, associations or connections made between them are those of the listener, not of the band.”
The interplay of instruments and Adam's exquisite passionate vox drive this whirlwind of a song. The post rock orchestrations, the proggy bass maneuvers, the surrealist keys, diverse drumming and wonderful whimsical horn work dazzles. It all makes me smile, makes me beam.
'Head Rush' was written by Adam Fuhr (vocals, electric guitar, piano, synth, organ, bass guitar) and Keegan Steele (vocals, synth) and further realized with the talents of Jensen Fridfinnson (vocals, violin), Oliver Macharia (baritone saxophone) and Jordon Ottenson (drum kit). Amazing artists all of them. I am not into reciting accomplishments (there are many), that is for press notey stuff that I have included below (as always).
Oh, and in support of the upcoming album, 'Trust Fall', Yes We Mystic launched an interactive toll-free choose-your-own-adventure style phone line. The hotline has been called hundreds of times from locations all over the world since its launch in August 2022. One can reach the toll-free hotline by calling 1 (877) 347-5231. Am I going to call, maybe. I am intrigued.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://soundcloud.com/yeswemystic
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5M0KLIhi300XkzJGPXzFsQ
https://www.instagram.com/yeswemystic/
Yes We Mystic has been many things in its decade of existence. In the beginning, it was a group of high schoolers making music on borrowed instruments in a basement in Winnipeg, Manitoba; in a few short years it had become an internationally-touring musical powerhouse being praised as “art pop transformers” (Julijana Capone, BeatRoute Magazine) charged with a “fearless creative energy” (Exclaim!). By 2019, for the release of their sophomore album Ten Seated Figures, they had reinvented themselves as a performance art collective (an alternate version of the band played by artists and actors did interviews, starred in videos, and hosted live performances as the band prodded at the nature of memory). Shortly thereafter the band’s longtime rehearsal space, reborn as House of Wonders, became the beating heart of off-kilter indie music in Winnipeg as frontman Adam Fuhr became a sought-after producer—producing work from JayWood, Virgo Rising, Amos the Kid, Julien’s Daughter, among dozens more. And now, they return as art-rock veterans for the release of their third and final album, Trust Fall, this October.
For a time, the band’s return was uncertain. As Yes We Mystic approached their tenth year together, the five members found themselves pulled in different directions. It became clear that their singularly-focused and hard-touring days had come to an end. In the earliest days of 2021, the band considered calling it quits all together, feeling as though they’d rather end on a high note rather than suffer a slow decline in the focus of their meticulous and ever-layered work.
In the end, it was their new songs that had the final say. Sensing that they were in the middle of writing the strongest material of their career, Adam Fuhr, Keegan Steele, Jensen Fridfinnson, Jodi Plenert and Jordon Ottenson agreed to a final phase—a proper sendoff—governed by two strict rules: that they would only create something if they could make it better than everything they’d done before, and that they would only work on one aspect of the release at a time, not knowing what the final outcome would look like.
The result was threefold - a new album called Trust Fall, an accompanying art piece called Trust Fall Hotline, and a reality bending four-song live video which will see the return of past members Eric Ross and Solana Johannson, performing for the first time as a seven piece. No live shows will accompany the release.
Trust Fall was recorded over 36 days at House of Wonders, the band’s second full-length to be produced by Fuhr. The ten song album is the band’s most cohesive and nuanced work, a seesaw of stark, tender vulnerability and frenzied bombast, brought to life by the band and their tight-knit web of collaborators. Trust Fall features guest performances from Olivier Macharia of the Polaris Prize nominated Super Duty Tough Work, Chelliot Osuntade from alt-rock group Julien’s Daughter, Leigh Lugosi of the ambient project Gora, and a full-band feature from the House of Wonders-signed Virgo Rising. The record was mixed by John Paul Peters (Tanya Tagaq, Begonia), and mastered by Cam Loeppky (The Weakerthans, The Constantines). It arrives October 21st on vinyl and streaming services via DevilDuck Records.
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