New York psych rock lifers who traded drone haze for streamlined grooves across five albums and a Butthole Surfers tour.
MOODS · psychedelic · hypnotic · droning · hazy · motorik · fuzzed-out · meditative · gritty · trance-inducing · warm · nocturnal · restless
BIOGRAPHY
Psychic Ills formed in New York City in 2003 around guitarist and vocalist Tres Warren and bassist and vocalist Elizabeth Hart, who met at the University of Texas at Austin. The band built its catalog through The Social Registry before moving to Sacred Bones Records, releasing five albums between 2006's Dins and 2016's Inner Journey Out.
Their music drew notice from The Village Voice, which named them Best Psych Rock Band, and from critics who praised the fevered intensity of 2009's Mirror Eye and the double LP Inner Journey Out, which featured a guest vocal from Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star. Warren died in 2020; Hart has since worked with Effi Briest and the ensemble Skint.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
Psychic Ills spent nearly two decades folding NYC underground grit into psychedelic rock, moving from the warped patchwork of Dins to the streamlined hypnosis of Hazed Dream and One Track Mind, the latter featuring Neil Hagerty. They toured with the Butthole Surfers, collaborated with Gibby Haynes, and drew a guest turn from Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, earning steady critical attention from outlets like AllMusic and The Village Voice along the way.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
First time on the station.
PLAYED ON WOKE1
