The Dream Syndicate

After several reissues of vintage recordings, The Dream Syndicate recently revealed they had signed to indie institution and international guardian of wonky psychedelia (Uncut), Fire Records.Set to release their new album this summer Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions features singer/songwriter/guitarist Steve Wynn, drummer Dennis Duck, bassist Mark Walton, lead guitarist Jason Victor plus their newest member Chris Cacavas on keyboards (you remember him from the 1980s Los Angeles band Green On Red).When the Dream Syndicate emerged in the early 80s, frontman Steve Wynn declared that were playing music we want to hear because nobody else is doing it he added, Ill comprise on what I eat or where I sleep, but I wont compromise on what music I play.Both were true, although their template of Velvet Underground meets Crazy Horse may seem commonplace today (and lets not forget, the Syndicate spawned many imitators), their raw twin guitar, bass and drums approach was not common during an era when slick polished MTV bands ruled. The band were uncompromising.

But before MTV switched to reality shows, The Dream Syndicate of The Days of Wine & Roses were no more.We could spend a whole page just talking about the original Dream Syndicate and their debut album The Days of Wine but suffice to say that the NME, Melody Maker, Sounds, Rolling Stone, et al all loved it.Decades later, in 2012 they remerged with a slight change in line-up, guitarist Jason Victor joining two original members Steve Wynn (singer/songwriter/guitarist) and after a blaze of touring, they recorded their first album in decades, How Did I Find Myself Here?The kind of comeback you always want your favorite band to make. MOJOThe album was surprisingly fresh (the addition of former Green on Red keyboardist Chris Cacavas provided lush textures previously unknown in their guitar-based music) and more surprising was a vocal cameo from co-founding member, the long-lost chanteuse Kendra Smith.More touring (joi