Bristol-based experimental psych-rock group My Octopus Mind release of their third studio album ‘Trying To Be Normal’ this month. The band are a high-energy experimental psych-rock four-piece comprised of Liam O’Connell – guitar, vocals and piano, Isaac Ellis – Double bass, Vocals, Oliver Cocup – drums, vocals, and honorary member Jordan Woolgar – guitar, synth. Lyrically the album deals with a lot of heavy subjects; heartbreak, the male identity fusing itself with FEM and rage at rape culture. It’s not without its lighter moments though.
The album opens with `Made Outta Gold` which comes to life as if a metamorphosis from a chrysalis to a butterfly is transpiring as the number blossoms into a fairly eclectic listen with vocals that interchange between shrieked to more thoughtful and akin to Anohni and the Johnsons. There`s a strange musing on gamblers with `High Roller` which veers at times from a delightful pounding adrenaline head rush to a more restrained considered reverie.
`Maiden of Honour` is a fairly odd kind of stream of consciousness from what appears to be a bridal assistant which swings from spoken word to sung with a changeover in vocalists. The double bass added another interesting dimension to this piece which had a jazz like tinge. We have a much more diverse offering in `Made Out of Lies` which may allude to struggles within somebody and their ongoing battles to be accepted.
`Converse Conserve` is a ninety-seven second aural soundbite prior to the eclectic `Draining the Swamp` a number that becomes fairly hypnotic as it evolves.
`Moving Slow` is a mesmerising composition which rolls along with an expansive slow burn musical rhythm and falsetto vocals almost floated atop sharing an introspective reflection on having to courage to be oneself. There`s an at times jarring prog like texture about `Minor Celebrities` which allows a platform for a spoken monologue evaluating people who have acquired a certain degree of fame.
`Wandering Alone` is a varied musical outing and according to vocalist and lyricist Liam O’Connell “Lyrically the track wasn’t inspired by anything other than the millions of different thoughts running through my head on solitary lockdown walks or the myriad of random rants I’d go into over a bottle of wine in a park with Izy (Isaac). It’s kind of an homage to Izy as he wrote the main musical ideas; it might have some connection to a book he lent me by Bell Hooks ‘The Will to Change’.” A track about thugs `Sabretooth Monkey` closes the album and it’s a final left field musing.
‘Trying To Be Normal’ was my introduction to the wonderfully bizarre world of My Octopus Mind. A group or collective that are hard to pigeonhole but have a unique, avant-garde, innovative and unconventional style that i`m sure if you take the trouble to listen will brighten your horizon.
Rating 8.5 /10
