Rock band Yeasayer co-founder Anand Wilder announced his new sophomore solo album, Psychic Lessons, yesterday, which is set to release on August 22. The album’s announcement was also accompanied by the release of a new single titled “Bog People” by Wilder. 

The psychedelic rock and electro-pop sound integral to Yeasayer’s sound is expected to return in Wilder’s new album. The upcoming album follows Wilder’s solo debut in 2022, I Don’t Know My Words, which found Wilder taking a serious step towards going solo. The album’s tracklist includes 12 tracks, co-produced by Wilder and multi-instrumentalist Jachary, with the notable single “Appointment in Samarra”. Wilder shared that he drew any inspiration he had for the album. ‘

Wilder’s single “Bog People” features a mix of fuzzy guitar, vocals and a nostalgic rhythm. In a press release, Wilder shared that the single is meant to emulate a ’90s vibe and represent what gets lost to time and what remains. The accompanying music video, directed by Patrick Drummond (Starcleaner Reunion) and partially shot by Wilder’s seven-year-old daughter Zazie and childhood friend Bernard Feinsod, follows the song’s theme. The video opens with footage viewed through a fish-eye lens, transitioning to an array of saturated, colorful and VHS-style footage. 

“Walter Fancourt and I had made this sort of ‘90s sounding boy band inspired beat with screechy scythe bends, so I just laid three chords over it and really went for it in a ‘90s alt-rock vein. And I hope the video captures some of that fisheye lens, VHS-style, ’90s fun,” Wilder shared. “We shot the nightclub dream sequence at the Rodeo Bar, where I DJ vinyl Third Tuesdays of every month.”

Wilder explained the music video as a conversation between a tour guide and a museumgoer about ritual sacrifice. The indie rock singer and songwriter also stated he hopes to keep making records in a “reeling music industry”.  

“So it’s kind of like a conversation between a know-it-all museum tour guide and a horrified museumgoer with scraps of anthropological history describing all these little details from what we think we know about this ritual sacrifice, combined with my poetic conjecture trying to get inside the minds of the people. Was it a punishment or a reward? Were the onlookers jealous or hysterical? And who is being offered up for sacrifice today?” Wilder said. 

Psychic Lessons Tracklist:

1.  Appointment In Samarra
2. Broken Beyond Repair
3. Molly’s Song
4. Darling Please
5.  Social Exile
6. Give Us A Wink
7. Tech Job
8. Selkie Bride
9. He Believed In It
10. Get A Dog
11. Bog People
12. Living Beside You/

Photo credit: Marv Watson