Originally hailing from Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, Gay Neighbors is a four piece psych rock band that now calls Chicago their home. Encountering them for the first time at Reverberation Records (their official venue in Bloomington), I was instantly seduced by their pleasantly dizzying sound, a successful mixture of grunge, psychedelic rock, and shoegaze. As I was rocking back and forth alongside an eager crowd of fans and passers-by, I found myself lost and happily absorbing their music, a place where nostalgia meets the future. Utilizing old genres and song structures, Gay Neighbors crafts a whole new set of sounds, making grungy psychedelic noise strangely accessible to those not acquainted with it. As I got closer to the band, I saw that they had a projector shooting colors of light over the stage, swimming over the four members as they showed off a playing chemistry elusive to most performers. Their show ended with a 10 minute jam that sealed the deal for me, and I went home that night searching online for more music, listening to whatever I could get my hands on.
Gay Neighbors’ newest work, the 6-track album Primordial, is a beautiful mix of everything they do best. From the high-pace rock of opening track “Twenty-Nine” to the dreamy jam of their 14-minute closer, Primordial does a perfect job of showing off the true versatility of the band and their obvious grasp of their own sound. Pumping fuzzy guitar lines and hazy vocals forefront a multitude of their tracks, with washed out drums and round bass lines that drive each song into faded liquid jams and eerie rock anthems. The album is a pinnacle for the band, and a fun listen for anyone searching for a way to satiate their love for old psychedelic rock, music that, against all odds, still seems alive and well in bands like Gay Neighbors.
Listen to the music of Gay Neighbors here, and check out their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see what they’re up to!