Artist Psychic Ills

Imagine an endless ride on a carousel, undertaken while under the influence of something illicit, and you’ll begin to get a sense of Psychic Ills. The New York band’s dirges are heavy on repetition, echoes, and buried vocals, but what Psychic Ills lack in mass appeal they make up for with a certain bewitching quality. The band’s latest album, Mirror Eye, is no more accessible than their previous effort, 2006’s Dins—indeed, it’s the kind of album for which critics trot out vague-isms like “textures” and “atmospherics”—but it’s an enchanting, pleasantly confounding work nonetheless.

Updated 10/13/2009