MIEN: MIIEN – Album Review

Psych-rock supergroup MIEN return with their second album and delve into an exploration that engulfs the listener in sounds that are altogether modern and classic, connecting decades of psychedelia through interwoven beats and sonics.

Clipping, pulsating, grooving over motorik beats as an organ floats, hypnotic vocals calling out, MIEN, the psych (whisper it) supergroup made up of members of The Black Angels, Elephant Stone, The Earlies, and Golden Stone Arkestra, kick off their new album with the kosmiche blend that is Evil People. Grabbing you by the stoned and swirled pupils, it pulls you down and into their groove, one that is nee-impossible to resist. “You and I, we belong together.” United in rhythm, this is the stuff of MGMT-meets-Kraftwerk-meets-desertpsych dreams. And we’re hooked from the start.

Out of it, and straight into Counterbalance, they play on Rishi Dhir’s wonderful sitar skills, the balance found in the programmed backdrop and Alex Maas‘ ghostly vocals pushed to the fore, slowly decaying and drifting off into the ether. It’s his pulsing bassline that keeps things going through Silent Golden, a rhythmic urge that throbs over Robb Kidd’s ever-present, ever-tight drums, the constant in the haze that binds these neo-psych journeymen together. The addition of John Mark Lapham’s electronics makes for a sudden paranoid explosion, one that comes drifting out the other side and into calming technicolour, slowly petering out through chimes and wistful meditations. The track encapsulates all sides of the band, each playing to their strengths to bring something special and elevate one another.

Maas’ love for Velvet Underground peeks through on the beautiful grace of Mirror; plaintive and wandering, the song meanders through a hidden forest of earthly delights. After the opening trio, it provides a mesmerising respite over which early summer sunrises paint hues of hope. Truly outstanding.

After tripping gently through How Could You Run, they take a dive into the spiral of Empty Sun. Anyone who heard the last Black Angels’ album will hear Maas’ continuation here, but here, with his MIEN counterparts, the song jitters and jolts, Kidd’s drums the star as the band build a whirling wall to the heavens. Ready to float, they give us what we need in the form of Tungsten, dripping in cascading synths and Eastern rhythm. Just as you feel satiated, ready to accept that all is well, Knocking On Your Door, with it’s free-flowing form brings a sense of unease to proceedings. The voice, hidden, unclear, not making its intentions clear. Open at your will, or peril, as Slipping Away pulls you under and into the dark. Despite this double blow of desert desolation, there is always hope, the band signing off with Morning Echo, a new day dawning.

On their second album, MIEN have created a true sonic-psych journey that is worthy of each of their names. This is an album that takes you from the inside, demands your attention for, if you stray, beware the destination, your headspace may awaken in fields unknown.

MIEN live dates
Mon, Apr 28 – Portsmouth, UK – Kola
Tue, Apr 29 – Leeds, UK – The Attic
Fri, May 2 – Margate, UK – Where Else?
Sat, May 3 – Brighton, UK – Hope & Ruin
Sun, May 4 – London, UK – Moth Club
Wed, May 7 – Paris, FR – Supersonic
Sat, May 10 – Eindhoven, NL – Effenaar/Fuzz Club Festival
Sun, May 11 – Munich, DE – Import Export
Tue, May 13 – Berlin, DE – Kantine am Berghain

MIIEN is available from Fuzz Club Records.

MIEN are on Facebook and Instagram.

~

Words by Nathan Whittle. Find his Louder Than War archive here.