Ahead of the October 27 release of The Third Mind 2, the improvisational music collective dedicated to experimenting with new, unorthodox, and unrehearsed sounds while paying tribute to groundbreaking artists like Michael Bloomfield and Fred Neil, share the third single for “Sally Go Round The Roses.”
Taking on the 1963 hit by Bronx-based, all-female group, The Jaynetts, The Third Mind turns “Sally Go Round The Roses”, an upbeat R&B pop song, into a mesmerizing, psychedelic rock serenade. Jesse Sykes’ enchanting vocals are a perfect accent to the pleading of the electric guitar.
“Even though it was written in the early 1960s as a girl group Pop/R+B song, ‘Sally Go Round The Roses’ is often mistaken for a timeless folk song,” offers Dave Alvin. “I’ve always been attracted to its seductive, almost spooky, melody mixing classic bluesy simplicity with ambiguity and dread. While ‘Sally Go Round The Roses’ has all the timeless qualities you find in traditional classic folk songs, it also possesses a perfect loose structure for some adventurous Third Mind style open ended improvisations. I love how Jesse’s vocal captures the plaintive, heart wrenching warnings of the lyrics while the band’s performance captures the collage of wild emotions hidden in those simple yet powerful lyrics.”
“When we sit in the studio and figure out a tune, it takes a few passes to get it together. It usually comes together, but it can feel elusive,” adds Victor Krummenacher. “‘Sally’ is probably one of the simpler songs on the album, but it’s about feel. When we were recording, we finished this song in the evening, and it felt pretty good, I was happy. We came back to the studio the next day, and our engineer Will said “why don’t you just hit it one more time”… and we did, and man, it went BANG… the interplay is great, Jesse’s vocal is spine chilling… Dave’s solo is chewy good and the interplay between Immy and Michael during his solo gives me the cold sweats… in a good way.”
The brainchild of GRAMMY award-winning guitarist Dave Alvin and veteran alternative music bassist Victor Krummenacher (Camper Van Beethoven, Monks of Doom, Eyelids), The Third Mind also features guitarist David Immerglück (Counting Crows, Monks of Doom, Camper Van Beethoven), drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Better Than Ezra, John Cale) and vocalist Jesse Sykes from her critically acclaimed group, Jesse Sykes and The Sweeter Hereafter.
The six-song set, which runs the length of three LP sides, features an original composition, “Tall Grass,” written by Jesse Sykes and Dave Alvin for the album, along with other material that reflects the band members varied musical histories from a storied time, including, “Groovin’ is Easy,” “Why Not Your Baby,” “Sally Go Round The Roses,” among others. With a “no safety parachute” recording approach, the band used free-form studio techniques inspired by Miles Davis and showcased on their debut with no rehearsals, preconceived arrangements, and recording spontaneous group improvisations live in the studio. Available October 27 on CD and Digital, the LP release date will follow November 10 ; purchase/listen here.
Glide Magazine, which premiered its second single, “Groovin Is Easy” video, hailed “The Third Mind’s take on this classic song is a mind-altering onslaught of psychedelic-tinged guitars with sweeping vocals that add an extra layer of beauty to this example of poetry in motion.” The band previously shared “Tall Grass,” the first single and video from the album; watch/share here. Of the song, Jesse Sykes offers, “‘Tall Grass’ sets out to celebrate the spirit or psyche of place, where the external and internal worlds meet. It’s a midnight serenade, a love song, and a bit of a eulogy to the land itself.”
Featured in festival previews as a must-see from the San Francisco Chronicle to CBS News, The Third Mind made their live debut performance at the 2023 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s legendary Golden Gate Park. Combining folk-rock, blues, jazz, post-punk, and freeform psychedelia with dark, moody yet hopeful and beautiful sonic landscapes, the “neo-psychedelic” (Press Democrat) band used their decades of experience as bandleaders and side-persons, playing both traditional and non-traditional music to mesmerize a crowd estimated at 4,000.
Produced by The Third Mind, the album was recorded by Will Golden at Sir Tiger Studio in Los Angeles, CA, mixed by Craig Parker Adams at Winslow Court Studios in Los Angeles, and mastered by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering. The fourth LP side features The Third Mind Mandala etching by Tony Fitzpatrick with artwork by Lou Beach.
The group’s 2020 self-titled debut garnered critical praise, including American Songwriter who noted it “exceeded anyone’s expectations,” Glide Magazine hailed it as a “mind-blowing experience,” and PopMatters exclaimed “expansive, adventurous music.”
The Third Mind 2 Tracklisting:
Side A
1.Groovin’ Is Easy
2.Why Not Your Baby
Side B
3.In My Own Dream
4.Tall Grass
Side C
5.Sally Go Round The Roses
6.A Little Bit Of Rain
Side D
Features The Third Mind Mandala etching by Tony Fitzpatrick
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Tags: album stream, CD, Dave Alvin, New Album, Stream, The Third Mind