Photo by: Annette Rodriguez
Official press release:
Legendary independent New York-based rock label Equal Vision Records and Quicksand are excited to announce the Friday, July 17 release of Bring On The Psychics, the brand new album from the New York City post-hardcore veterans. Marking an entirely new era for the storied three-piece — guitarist/vocalist Walter Schreifels, bassist/vocalist Sergio Vega and drummer Alan Cage — Bring On The Psychics serves as the sonic bridge between the band’s heavy and influential Nineties sound and the ambitious, experimental output contained within its more recent era. Produced and mixed by Jon Markson (Drug Church, Drain) across 10 days, Bring On The Psychics once again finds Quicksand reinventing the sound they helped pioneer.
Watch the music video for “Get To It”, directed and edited by Jesse Korman, and stream “Regenerate” below. Pre-order, pre-save and pre-add Bring On The Psychics on all platforms HERE. Schreifels had the following to share about the two brand new singles:
“It’s tough to talk about your own music and what it means, not only because I sometimes don’t understand it myself but in a way it robs the listener of their own interpretation. So if you don’t want that, read no further. Otherwise, with ‘Get To It’ and ‘Regenerate’, we wanted to do something high-energy and straightforward with a positive feeling. ‘Get To It’ is about ‘getting to it’, poking holes in the excuses for standing still. Procrastination is something I’ve struggled with my whole life so I’m always looking for a new mantra to help overcome my tendency to put things off.
‘Regenerate’ is about finding new paths forward. It’s a theme I think we all return to. No matter how well you play it, life will keep taking things away from you. It sucks but this is how we learn and grow as people, so it might be we’re living the most when faced with having to get back up from a hard hit.”
Inspired by a quote from scientist Carl Sagan, Bring On The Psychics, Quicksand’s first album in five years and Equal Vision Records debut, sees guitarist/vocalist Walter Schreifels examining his past through his present reality. He explains:
“For this album, I was going back to a lot of my earlier influences about ‘Break Down The Walls’ or ‘Start Today’. Regardless of whether you’re into hardcore or youth crew, they’re really cool records because they’re speaking to the time and providing possible paths to a better future … with mosh parts. That’s the energy that I wanted to bring to this.”
From the hook-driven heaviness of the opener “Get To It” to the shoegaze splendor of “Crystallize”, the band covers a lot of sonic ground on Bring On The Psychics, but it always sounds like Quicksand. Its technical virtuosity is on full display here as well, from bassist/vocalist Sergio Vega’s locked-in bass grooves on “Cool Guy” to Alan Cage’s dynamic drumming on the album’s title track. The band also stretched out, musically, on the album as evidenced by the breezy ballad “Days You Run To”, a song that might even surprise longtime fans. Schreifels says of the laid-back feel of the aforementioned track:
“To me, that is the kind of thing that Fugazi would do on their more chill kind of tunes. It’s nice to have something that was more expansive to show the Pink Floyd side of Quicksand.”
That aspect of the band has never been a secret; anyone who has seen the band’s psychedelic light show can attest to that consciousness-expanding vibe. Bring On The Psychics just sees the band encapsulating their creative vision in a fully, more integrated manner. Schreifels summarizes:
“I’m really psyched to play these songs live. I feel really fortunate to still be playing music with these guys and be able to take it to different places.”
Quicksand will be making the following appearances this summer. Dates below with more to be added soon.
Bring On The Psychics track listing:
- “Get To It”
- “Regenerate”
- “Agency”
- “Crystallize”
- “Supercollider”
- “In Full Color”
- “Days You Run To”
- “Cool Guy”
- “Moving Forward”
- “Bring On The Psychics”
