The Austin-based singer-songwriter and genre-bending recording artist, The Psychos Of Soul, releases his sultry and explosive debut single, "Like You Used To."
The multi-instrumentalist prides himself on his versatile sound that merges genres like grunge, blues, rock, and pop, inspired by acts like Nirvana, Royal Blood, Soundgarden, The Black Keys, Post Malone, and more. The Psychos Of Soul is not just an organized sound but a sacred outlet to harnessing true inner expression.
Recently releasing his heavy and gripping single, "Like You Used To," The Psychos Of Soul drenches us in a powerful and bluesy sonic atmosphere with hints of grunge, hip-hop, and pop. The song's lyrical content expands on a rather intense theme, as The Psychos Of Soul reminds us that love might be tender, but it can easily be tainted with jealousy, resentment, and bitter impulses.
Diving into "Like You Used To," the track takes off with a growling bass-like synth, airy mid-tempo drum breaks, and The Psychos Of Soul's haunting and sensual vocal stylings. As the grungy and crunchy electric guitar begins to pierce our speakers, The Psychos Of Soul make his way over to the hook while summoning all the lust, passion, and stimulation we can ask for.
As he blasts off into a heated and fiery sonic space, The Psychos Of Soul continues to drench us in the aches and pains of a tumultuous relationship, where love is often associated with pain. We can't get enough of the sexual and riveting atmosphere that The Psychos Of Soul offers within this delicious hit, especially as he blasts his way to the outro alongside the wailing guitars and crashing drum breaks.
Catch The Psychos Of Soul's sweltering and steamy debut single, "Like You Used To," on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, The Psychos of Soul. Congratulations on releasing your powerful and steamy debut single, "Like You Used To." What inspired you to create this sultry and exciting single based on tumultuous love?
This song is an untraditional "love song," it was inspired by a passionate relationship that eroded quickly and intensely. I had been experiencing the same situation with relationships flaming out and the lingering feelings of not being good enough, whatever, and had written them off, as just not meant to be. Then I met this girl, who was everything I was looking for inwardly, character-wise, etc., and physically. Things were unique, exciting, etc., for a long time, and just as I thought things could work out, little by little, things started to erode. Like there was this subtle, subversive change in the energy between us that we both picked up on, and I felt that we both wanted to avoid but, in the process, ended up creating. Like our own fear of losing each other started to fuel this jealousy and distrust that made the situation neither of us wanted.
This song captures that moment when you know something is amiss, and you feel your partner slipping away from you, but there's nothing you can do to change it, like the more you want to keep things together, the more intensely they fall apart. I think this song portrays the mental toll that can take on someone, conflicting emotions, especially as a man, or just trying to tough it out, keep your head up, not show weakness, etc. When you feel intense pain but have these lingering feelings that you can't shake, you are too proud or weak to admit that you are contributing to the situation and don't want to lose at the game of love. It was like our attraction and love for each other ended up fueling our jealousy and hatred for each other. It's just a song that digs at the nature of love, the gamesmanship of love, and shines a light on the dark things most love songs avoid, like envy, bitterness, and revenge. The song's main riff is a unique way of playing a traditional blues riff, which inspired the lamenting vocal style.
Why did you choose to release "Like You Used To" as your big debut single? How does this song properly introduce us to who you are and the music you create?
The debut album that is in the works thematically really details my struggles and growth spiritually over the last couple of years. The experiences that inspired this song deeply affected me and were a catalyst for a lot of personal development and growth. So from a storytelling perspective, this song sets the stage for everything to come. I enjoy creating things that are real, you know, visceral, songs that are too cliche, bug me, and don't resonate with me, so from that perspective, I think this song introduces my musical and storytelling style. The songs I write are low-end heavy, rhythmically charged, and the choruses are cathartic and explosive, so this is a pleasant taste teaser of everything that will follow.
Did you collaborate with any musicians or producers when formulating "Like You Used To?" Who helped bring your vision to life?
I wrote and recorded every instrument of this song myself (the drums, which I created using an app). I worked with Brent Kolatalo(producer/mixer) and Max Lorenzen(mix engineer/mastering engineer) on the production side of things. Brent really took my rough draft and gave it some structure, as well as some ambiance to help create the mood, cleaned things up, and sort of laid the foundation for everything sonically. After working with him, I upgraded my recording equipment and re-recorded large chunks of the song, then Max took over and was able to refine the song exactly how I had envisioned it. I loved working with him; he is incredibly patient, diligent, and he could see what I was seeing and create it! He's a straight harry-potter style wizard, and I would recommend him to anyone looking for an engineer, especially in indie rock/pop or experimental genres!
How did you want to make the listener feel after experiencing "Like You Used To?" What thoughts or feelings did you enjoy the song evoking?
I hope this song resonates with people who are looking for love and struggling in relationships. I wanted to evoke a feeling of trying to tough things out. In contrast, being hampered by this intense feeling of weakness and pain and walking the listener through all of the conflicting emotions and thoughts associated with having feelings for someone in a relationship that you know isn't going to work out.
What's next for you?
I wrote this song entirely by myself before I had a band, so I'm focused now on just creating the best live set possible, with a mix of originals and covers. I'm also continuing to write and refine the songs that I have for the upcoming album to continue to grow my discography and audience!
