[engl] Following up TIMMY VULGAR and QUINTRON with a MIND MELD threefer. The collective brains of GREG KING, RYAN BELL, and JOSH FEIGERT gives us GLITTERING INSECTS. An Atlanta "Ego Summit" written and recorded over the course of four weekend sessions. These three turned in the quickly thrown together EVOKER Tape as a companion piece for GG KING- Remain Intact LP back in 2020. I was so moved by it I asked if they would be interested in putting together a Mind Meld LP. "Glittering Insects and their self-titleddebut album takes the concept a bit further, exploring a trio of minds, bringing together Atlanta’s Greg King (GG King, Carbonas), Ryan Bell (GG King, Predator), and Josh Feigert (Wymyns Prysyn, GG King) for a collaborative effort. While all three members play together in GG King, Glittering Insects is assuredly something different, and it’s pretty astonishing. Written and recorded over a series of weekends spent in the studio, the album is made off-the-cuff, but you’d never believe it upon hearing it. The record trades in garage punk and beer soaked power-pop for something far more dense, sinister, and vastly expansive. Glittering Insects are entrenched in the weeds, tangling themselves ever deeper through an array of post-hardcore menace and death rock with touches of krautrock, black metal, and shoegaze adding impossible amounts of texture. The thing is though, it doesn’t really sound like any of those genres as the trio really only pull bits and pieces together to make something amorphous.

[engl] We’ve been keeping this one under our hat for nearly two years. On the short list of people, I wanted to work with when the original Mind Meld concept was hatched was Chris Gunn (Lavender Flu/ Hunches). I reached out to the Lavender Flu crew at the time (2019) a few emails were exchanged, but it wasn’t till I moved to Portland in 2020 that this collaboration came to fruition. Sure, the original label idea was to work with people outside the genre or project they were known for but when one of my favorite bands ask me to put out a record, I wasn’t going to let something like self-imposed parameters get in the way. Besides it's not like Lavender Flu exist within tight borders and they completely fit the vibe I’m trying to cultivate here at Mind Meld. I eagerly said yes but asked if they would be cool with forgoing the usual pre-release rigamarole and let this record magically appear on release day. Well now here we are…. The new Lavender Flu EP, Assorted Promenades, was started at a point during the pandemic when the band had no practice space and limited options for getting together as a full band. They decided to record a single based around a Moby Grape cover (I am not willing) and spontaneously composed tracks built up on the tape machine. Realizing they had too much material, it morphed into a 12 inch at 45 RPM in the style of the early Flying Nun EPs. By this time they had a space to work in so another cover (Dream Girl by Oscar Mack) was recorded full band style to make a nice long 9 track EP “

[engl] We're kicking things off with an album from TIMMY VULGAR'S GENETIC ARMADGEDDON. Vulgar (Human Eye/Clone Defects/Timmy's Organism mastermind) wrote, recorded and played all the instruments on “Music From The Other Side Of The Swamp”, a 15 song exploration into the deepest crevices of his chromed cranium. An acutely personal and raw album showcasing elements of his previous projects while adding some new motifs to his arsenal. Psychedelic crooners, kraut influenced instrumentals, and guitar heavy rockers all processed through Timmy’s patented caveman via space alien filter. The tracks flow in and out of each other, covered in broken synthesizers and feedback, creating a lurching, breathing, late night masterpiece. This is not the kind of album one casually listens to. This requires complete submergence. It’s exactly what we had in mind when we came up with MIND MELD and he’s setting a high-water mark right from the get go. Turn down the lights, turn on, and turn up your stereo because it’s time to meld minds with Timmy Vulgar.