Hot Garbage Premiere Their Cryptic “Mystery” Single & Music Video

There’s no “mystery” of what you’re getting from Hot Garbage today: a brilliant slab of modern psych rock, bringing together many memorable sounds from many memorable musical eras. “Mystery” is the second single from the Toronto rockers’ brand new album Precious Dream.

As we await the release of the record on January 19th via Mothland and EXAG Records, we have a pretty groovy new video to enjoy. With fuzzed-out riffs and an acid-rock feel, the song tells the curious story of Judy and Billy. It paints an intense, hypnotic musical canvas about voluntary amnesia and dreamy confusion. The video clip is as hazy as the song, very much inviting the viewer to attach their own meaning to it.

Commenting on the song, Juliana Carlevaris (bass) and Alex Carlevaris (guitar, vox) state:

“‘Mystery’ is one of the songs that Alex wrote that sonically calls back some of our older material by featuring a freakout with building tension that really shakes up an otherwise pretty sparse, attitude-driven vibe. I think how that moment of intensity would translate in a live setting was also a factor in piecing it together.”

Both “Mystery” and the LP’s first single, “Snooze You Lose,” begin to paint a psychedelic portrait of what to expect. Since their inception, Hot Garbage have become known for their heavy and moody psychedelia. But it would be inaccurate to characterize this as just some throwback ’60s rock record. It also takes the band further into a world of driving rhythms and vintage post-punk riffs. There’s also an element of 1970s krautrock that you can hear within the album’s experimental elements. The arrangements are deliberate and brooding, playing off of the general themes of the record. Throughout Precious Dream, the band grapples with themes of dread, loss, resilience, and the highs and lows of solitude.

Working again with producer Graham Walsh, he really encouraged Hot Garbage to travel far and wide with their experimentation. Walsh, known for his work with Holy Fuck and No Joy, also produced the band’s debut RIDE. If you’re a fan of Sonic Youth, Joy Division, and Frankie and the Witch Fingers, you should find a deep kinship with the music of Hot Garbage.

Precious Dream Track Listing:

1. Snooze You Lose
2. Look at My Phone
3. Lowering
4. Mystery
5. Tunnel Traps
6. Sarabandit
7. Blue Cat
8. Traveller / Caravan
9. Erase My Mind

Hot Garbage ‘Precious Dream’ album artwork