The debut album from MIEN, pronounced “Mean” and featuring members of The Horrors, The Black Angels & more has shared it’s new single ‘(I’m tired of) Western Shouting.
“It was very random and unpredictable,” says John Mark Lapham, of MIEN’s beginnings. “Rishi had contributed sitar to the Earlies’ second album, and I was living in Rochester, New York in 2012 when I saw that he was playing with the Black Angels in Buffalo, which is down the road. I went to go see them, and the whole idea of us working together with Alex started floating around. The Black Angels had crossed paths with the Horrors, so Tom was the last piece of the puzzle. It was initially just a case of exchanging ideas. We loved the music, but we never wanted to form a supergroup. We just wanted a fun experience. We didn’t even know we were a band until we got the record deal with Rocket.”
What, then, is MIEN? Unsurprisingly those involved find it hard to describe. MIEN sounds like it has emerged from the primordial swamp. Psychedelic music typically has associations with the late 60s and early 70s. An industrial slant gives modernist heaviness, but the sitars and sweet melodies bring an ancient quality. This is searching music, made by people who aren’t quite sure what they are looking for but will keep on searching until they have found it.
This is very much a side project in it’s truest form, as it has very little in common with the members other bands. There are some recognisable moments in the vocals delivery and occasional melody choice, but other than that it is very much out on it’s own. It actually has more in common with Unkle to the ear and has a lot of potential if they keep in this direction.
MIEN is out now on Rocket Recordings
