Newcastle’s Fungas, throw their listeners in a swirling-psych ocean with their new EP, Theory Of The Mind.
After releasing their latest single Theory Of The Mind, Fungas set the expectations for their upcoming EP pretty darn high.
Well let me tell you, Theory Of The Mind was only the tip of the iceberg for four-piece group’s insane soundscape. Their EP of the same name is a Willy Wonka mushroom trip from the dreamy chocolate room to the psychedelically chaotic boat ride.
Recorded in the den of Lakehouse Audio with producer, Simon Dobson, the 5-track swirl is a blended mix of frantic stoner grumbles and mad-hatter tunes – up is down, left is right and Fungas are fucking crazy.
The EP kicks off with a shot of sonic melatonin; Temporary Escalator. The eerily echoed tune sets an unusual tone, but then again, nothing about Fungas’ style is usual in any way.
Saturated with every instrument under the sun, from a clarinet, accordion, trumpet and to a damn organ, the track cooks a layered slice of psych-rock bliss before the cackle of hallucinated laughter wakes you from the ruptured dream.
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What follows next is Fruit Fly, the complete antithesis of the animal; small, quiet and annoying. The track is instead; loud, unapologetically absurd, and oozing with surf-rock riffs.
“We blasted the bass tone and drilled the guitar tones to just be really fuzzed out and angry” the boys describe.
Well “fuzzed out” it is, with the tune rolling down like a rollercoaster coming out of the tunnel. The peak of Fungas’ EP is; Theory Of The Mind, a gorgeously trippy, King Gizzard-vibe track, with vocals and a tune that would sprout mushrooms without even trying.
Fungas sound the alarm with their next track, Sirens, exploding in an ultra-violet bass riff and a catastrophic stoner grunge sound.
It would be interesting and terrifying to see the chaos the boys will orchestrate in their soon-to-be-released music video for the tune.
Pareidolia, the final layer of Fungas’ whimsical rumble, dwelled from their love for the psychedelic surf rock scene. Dripping in treble and hallucinogenic echoes – the group describes the track to be about; “a bloke who can’t stop seeing faces within inanimate objects… and it ends up driving him insane”.
The song even ended up in local Newy surf legend, Ryan Callinans’ latest surf clip, which is just gosh darn infatuating:
Fungas’ Theory Of The Mind, is that there is no theory at all. In all their chaos and hypnotic soundscapes, the group has pulled together a burst of electrically oozing hallucinations, it’s a trip you will absolutely want to take.
Have a listen to Fungas’ imaginative EP below: