Psymon Spine
Head Body Connector
NORTHERN SPY
New York’s Psymon Spine is a band of wild cards. Their 2017 LP You Are Coming to My Birthday is one part inferno and three parts syrup, a proper mess of cerebral rock. By 2021’s Charismatic Megafauna, they beefed up their electronics and embraced a lustrous, disco-ready pop without sacrificing their trademark stupefying intricacy—and it got even funkier on the following year’s remix album, Charismatic Mutations. One could argue that Birthday was a heady album while Megafauna offered the chance to get the body moving.
Now, Psymon Spine returns with a third full-length—aptly titled Head Body Connector—bridging the band’s variegated output. Connector has pristine pop, bold rock, and a revitalized love for performance that all fuel their highest octane release yet. “Boys” is the ideal opener, featuring longtime Berlin-based collaborator Sabine Holler’s longing for companionship stated cleanly: “I wanna hang out with my boys.” The follow-up, “Wizard Acid,” is laden with the same electronics, keys, and groovy beat that keeps the party going.
Compared to Megafauna, Head Body Connector lets the guitar play a much grander role, and on tracks like “Be the Worm,” “Bored of Guitar,” “Garbage,” and “So Far Away,” the guitar is a true standout in distinct ways, darting between post-punk and vintage pop flourishes. The band also isn’t afraid to lean into psychedelia; just look at “Ketamine Hot Tub,” an at times comical number leaning into an oddly luxurious state of submission. Over the past near-decade, the group has proven themselves to be curious experimentalists, whether it’s through pushing the boundaries of rock music and songwriting itself beyond widely accepted limits or through their precision in fusing dance and rock into something that doesn’t just feel like a rushed amalgamation.
Beyond its synthesis of the band’s work into one cohesive but diverse project, Head Body Connector displays Psymon Spine’s literal growth. The project has been a longtime endeavor spearheaded by Noah Prebish, Peter Spears, and Brother Michael Rudinski in collaboration with Sabine Holler; now, their longtime friends Zeb Stern (drums) and Sarah Aument (vocals/guitar) join the band on the road and in the studio, realizing the dynamic live show the band seeks. In concert, they’re a whirlwind force of personality; on record, they carry it through.
