WVFRMS, Journalism, Writer, Psychic Selves

bro-fi space pasta


WRITER's James and Andy Ralph are brothers, and if you couldn't see it in their faces, you'll see it written all over them, sometimes even literally. The two share a tattoo—the words "Brothers Ralph" surrounding an anchor, like two sailors navigating the same sea—but you can also hear their brotherhood all over their music. Andy's voice cascades and careens around and across James' almost impossibly hard floor tom hits, and when the two join together to shout a chorus or a particularly important lyric on their album Brotherface, the two create a sound that's much more than two boys playing songs together.

The songs on Brotherface are a unique combination of anthemic and psychedelic; not meandering, definitely structured, but also bubbling and swirling with layers of sound that seem far more complicated than what two guys can make standing alone on a stage. The aquarium-sound of "Miss Mermaid" makes love into a slow swim, while the energetic gallop and brisk harmonies of "Cash For Gold" call to mind the feeling of driving across and empty expanse of highway with your friends late at night, shouting into the dark just to hear your own voice.

After extensive touring, the pair will be self-releasing a first pressing of Brotherface in October, writing new songs, and preparing to set off on yet another tour in the fall. They're also continuing to settle in to New York City, and watching their sound change as they continue to write. "The sound keeps getting fuzzier," Andy says, adding, "which both of us are into." And surely if the past has been any indication, the two are right, as brother music is always better than music made alone.


Psychic Selves are a punk band from Brooklyn.

Pepto G (drums + vox)
David Taveras (guitar)
Jon Rocha (bass)