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WAALT TAKE
If psych-rock and shoegaze are your thing, don’t sleep on this one. Buy it, stream it, download it & see them live if you can! Strange Lot have made a genuinely solid, no-skip album that deserves a much bigger audience.
RIYL: The Black Angels • DIIV • Deerhunter
Start Here: “All I Know”
Standouts: “Nobody Seems to Do the Math” • “It’s Always You” • “Not Afraid Anymore”
Austin psych-rock band Strange Lot return with a self-titled album that feels like the clearest picture yet of where the band is headed. Psychedelia and shoegaze are still part of the foundation, but the record stretches further into darker rhythms, synth textures and more melodic, sometimes almost danceable moments.
The evolution feels especially clear on “All I Know,” a track that blends these added elements without losing what made Strange Lot interesting in the first place. Hazy vocals and layered reverb craft a melodic story that keeps the listener fully immersed, while the rhythm underneath gives the song a subtle momentum that carries through much of the album.
Standout Tracks
“Nobody Seems to Do the Math”
A strong example of how Strange Lot can pair hazy, psychedelic textures with a more immediate rhythm. There’s movement beneath the atmosphere that gives the track a restless energy and makes it one of the album’s most memorable moments.
“It’s Always You”
One of the tracks I just keep coming back to. It's crisp ethereal feel is completely mesmerizing.
“Not Afraid Anymore”
A strong closing track that feels reflective without losing the sense of forward motion that runs throughout the record.
With the album now out, Strange Lot answered a few questions about finding its sound, working with Alex Maas of The Black Angels and Jim Eno of Spoon, pushing beyond their own musical expectations, the visual world surrounding the record and what Austin has meant to the band.
SL: I just knew that if I gave up, I’d regret it forever. It was the first time I really had to motivate myself and believe in what I was doing without relying on outside support or other people’s perspectives. In a way, that made continuing feel even more important, because I had to decide for myself that Strange Lot was still something worth pursuing.
WMB: You’ve said that “All I Know” became a sort of north star for the album and helped define the sound you were looking for. What did you hear in that song that suddenly made the rest of the record make sense?
SL: It was really the vibe of it. It felt new and different for me, but also like it wasn’t trying to prove anything. There’s this underlying darkness to the song that never feels too obvious or forced, and I think that ended up reflecting a lot of the feelings running through the rest of the album.
WMB: You worked with Alex Maas of The Black Angels on production and Jim Eno of Spoon on several of the mixes. What did you learn from collaborating with them, and did either of them change the way you think about songwriting, recording or building a song?
SL: It was really special working with both of them. A lot of what I learned was to keep believing in the songs and protect what made them special in the first place throughout the entire process. It’s easy to get lost in all the different steps of making an album and start focusing on everything surrounding the songs, but they both helped me appreciate the songs for what they were and reminded me that they were worth continuing to work on.
WMB: There’s obviously plenty of psychedelia and shoegaze on the record, but there are also strong rhythms, synths and moments that feel almost danceable underneath all that haze. Were you consciously trying to push Strange Lot outside of what people traditionally expect from a psych-rock band?
SL: I was more so trying to push myself outside of what I expected. I wanted to make music that made me feel something, rather than fall back on what I’d done before or what other people expected. A lot of it was rejecting habits and instincts I’d built over time to find new avenues musically and make something I wanted to hear but couldn’t quite find anywhere else.
SL: It was really special working with both of them. A lot of what I learned was to keep believing in the songs and protect what made them special in the first place throughout the entire process. It’s easy to get lost in all the different steps of making an album and start focusing on everything surrounding the songs, but they both helped me appreciate the songs for what they were and reminded me that they were worth continuing to work on.
WMB: There’s obviously plenty of psychedelia and shoegaze on the record, but there are also strong rhythms, synths and moments that feel almost danceable underneath all that haze. Were you consciously trying to push Strange Lot outside of what people traditionally expect from a psych-rock band?
SL: I was more so trying to push myself outside of what I expected. I wanted to make music that made me feel something, rather than fall back on what I’d done before or what other people expected. A lot of it was rejecting habits and instincts I’d built over time to find new avenues musically and make something I wanted to hear but couldn’t quite find anywhere else.
WMB:The visual identity surrounding this album has been really striking, from the self-titled cover to the individual single artwork. The album art by Kyle Duce especially feels like it belongs in the same world as the music. How involved were you in developing that visual direction, and was there a particular idea or meaning you wanted the artwork to convey?
SL: Thank you! All the artists involved really pushed the record further visually than I could have on my own. I was involved in giving general ideas and colors, but for the most part they connected with the music and just got it. We actually met Kyle while he was live painting at an event, and when I saw that painting on display, I bought it on the spot. I hadn’t even written the record yet, but I knew there was a record in there somewhere. I’m really happy to finally put music to it. It’s the kind of album cover that, if I saw it on a record shelf, I’d want to know what was inside.
WMB: You moved Strange Lot from Phoenix to Austin in 2019, and since then you’ve become pretty woven into the city’s psych scene. How has Austin treated the band over the years, and do you feel like living and making music here has influenced Strange Lot creatively, culturally or even just in the opportunities that have opened up?
SL: Austin has been one of the best things for the band. The level of talent here is incredible, and being surrounded by so many great bands naturally pushes everyone to be better. More than anything, it’s the spirit of music and art that lives here. There’s always something happening, and being part of that kind of creative community is really invigorating.
WMB: The record ends with “Not Afraid Anymore,” which feels like a fitting title considering how close Strange Lot came to ending before this album existed. Was putting that song last intentional, and does it connect at all to what you went through while making the record?
SL: Yeah, it was intentional. It just felt like the right sentiment to close the album with. It’s really about pushing through whatever feels difficult or uncertain and trusting that there’s a brighter side waiting on the other end.
SL: Thank you! All the artists involved really pushed the record further visually than I could have on my own. I was involved in giving general ideas and colors, but for the most part they connected with the music and just got it. We actually met Kyle while he was live painting at an event, and when I saw that painting on display, I bought it on the spot. I hadn’t even written the record yet, but I knew there was a record in there somewhere. I’m really happy to finally put music to it. It’s the kind of album cover that, if I saw it on a record shelf, I’d want to know what was inside.
WMB: You moved Strange Lot from Phoenix to Austin in 2019, and since then you’ve become pretty woven into the city’s psych scene. How has Austin treated the band over the years, and do you feel like living and making music here has influenced Strange Lot creatively, culturally or even just in the opportunities that have opened up?
SL: Austin has been one of the best things for the band. The level of talent here is incredible, and being surrounded by so many great bands naturally pushes everyone to be better. More than anything, it’s the spirit of music and art that lives here. There’s always something happening, and being part of that kind of creative community is really invigorating.
WMB: The record ends with “Not Afraid Anymore,” which feels like a fitting title considering how close Strange Lot came to ending before this album existed. Was putting that song last intentional, and does it connect at all to what you went through while making the record?
SL: Yeah, it was intentional. It just felt like the right sentiment to close the album with. It’s really about pushing through whatever feels difficult or uncertain and trusting that there’s a brighter side waiting on the other end.
Strange Lot's self-titled album is out now. I'm sharing my favorite track, “All I Know,” but as a whole, this is definitely a no-skip album.
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