“Rhizomania” will be released on October 3, 2026, on Canute Records.

Spygenius returns on October 3rd with their inaugural release on their new label, Canute Records. As usual, their new music is an adventurous romp through familiar and uncharted territories.

“Watch Like No One’s Dancing” starts the album off on an extremely promising not with a 30-second blast of “I Can See For Miles”-flavored burst of guitars and drums that quickly gives way to the sound of old friends, back in the studio. While it’s possible that one could put on a Spygenius album and not break into a grin, I don’t see that happening. The energy, the enthusiasm, the joy lifts you out of the doldrums of everyday life and holds you in its sway. And, exactly like an overdue visit from old friends, it’s always a welcome feeling when Spygenius comes a’ knocking again.

The title of the next track is probably the single greatest “in joke” in the realm of contemporary Independent music. So many journalists agonizing over “defining” and “pigeon holing’ artists into 25 word or less boxes, and one of the most magnificent things about this band is that you can take all of the time you’d like attempting to do that, and it just ain’t gonna happen. Now, of course, Spygenius is well aware of the fact that they are on that playground, but the fact that they can make a sly, tongue-in-cheek, good natured goof about it speaks volumes about the heart of the band.

In that spirit, their covers album, “Spygenius Blows Their Covers,” made a point of drawing from so many expected AND unexpected sources that it’s like one band member laid down a trail of bread crumbs in the woods so that you could find them, and another member was right behind them, eating every crumb so that you couldn’t. The opening track of that album, a medley of Traffic’s “Paper Sun” and The Monkees / Mike Nesmith’s “Love Is Only Sleeping,” remains a masterpiece, and a potent reminder that you CAN enjoy Traffic AND the Monkees (and scores of other artists) in one sitting and not agonize if your car happens to cross a line or two on the highway.

“Alone Again Orwell” highlights the fact that, just as Brian Wilson loved writing about cars and girls and the beach, he knew that longevity as an artist meant broadening his horizons. This presents another spoke in the Spygenius wheel. If an artist writes about subjects that the mainstream audience finds compelling, it’s one more single from the hit factory. But if an artist can write about anything they WANT to write about it and MAKE it compelling, THAT is a brilliant artist with a great shot at longevity. As Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks might say, “Columnated ruins domino” (wink, wink).

“I Don’t Understand It” is buoyed by some wonderful organ and a sprightly melody that belies the fact that there’s meat on the bones, that the band is actually having a conversation with you about the world as they see it. And there’s another secret. Get heavy with an audience and there is a 50-50 chance they’re going to feel oppressed by that and seek out something more “fun.” Have fun delivering your message and the audience has fun with you.

“Desire Paths” is another “in the pocket” song that features the band doing what they do best, and while you will feel multiple influences swirling around you, there’s never a need to play “Who do they sound like on this one” game. So many critics / journalists get lazy and want to convince you that they are doing their job if they can only convince you that the album they’re reviewing will appeal to fans of Teenage Fanclub. Maybe the best idea if someone wants an album that sounds like Teenage Fanclub is to play an actual album by that band, and let artists entertain you on their own terms.

The track is a magical mix of harmonies, acoustic and electric instruments, with a nice, relaxed glide to the finish.

“My Toxic Pal” is a hoot, a real “OOM PAH PAH” march and trot…”A Chinese General is living in my pocket”…it’s vaudeville and old-school entertainment that clocks in at an extremely economical 53 seconds.

And, in brilliant Spygenius fashion, the next track, “Cnut” (gosh, might that be an anagram?) locks into an precise, circular riff with ever-shifting dynamics, another specialty of this band. They are not about verse-chorus-verse, I-IV-V chord progressions, and when other artists attempt to mix things up, it sometimes veers into cacophony, but if you know about this band, you know they always know where they intend to take you…they just don’t signal that in the first 30 seconds. It’s sort of “The Revolver album goes to the circus.” Hard to explain, but as stated up front, this is sort of the “anti-explaining” review, in deference to just putting the album on and letting it wash over you.

“The Mr Blue Sky Thinking Blues” baits one into thinking “Wait…is this a Jeff Lynne tribute?” And when you get to the lyric about “Stick your Mr Blue Sky thinking where the sun never shines,” you realize it’s not, despite the sunny nods to sixties psychedelia, the horn solo, the vibe solo…the band is extremely adept at handing you a clue, and then shattering any expectations you might have derived from that clue. And once again, it’s all good-natured and you are included in the ruse, which is how and why it works.

“As Young As We Will Be” offers an extremely welcome co-lead vocal from bassist Ruth Rogers. Vocal duties are often performed by frontman, songwriter and guitarist Peter Watts, and while you always hear Ruth as part of the band’s impeccable harmony vocals, this one will charm you faster than you can say “Sandy Denny.” Her vocals are pure, clear, and an absolute delight.

“Horizon Shine” would sound at home among the finest tracks on any Spygenius album, and the aforementioned Mr. watts always serves the song and never overplays. His playing is intricate, but never intimidating. And once again, it wraps around the transcendent harmony vocals in a way that is the distinctive province of this band.

“Tre-biwt” once again places greater emphasis on Ruth’s vocals, and the track is a shimmering pool of psychedelic joy. Part of what made the Sixties “The Sixties” was a gentle sense of wonder at the world and everything in it. So much of the innocence of that era evaporated into days gone by, but not for this band. They can effortlessly summon it at will. “We’ll remember to call your name, until we meet again…” Indeed. Look no further than my opening remarks in this review.

The closing track, “Beachcomber,” brings the album to an extremely nice, elegiac finish, with beautifully performed guitar, orchestration, and an emotional vocal from Peter. When you listen to a Spygenius album, you do feel that they’ve taken you on a vibrant, three-dimensional journey, and this one is no exception. They’ve brought a few new elements into the mix, but everything “works,” because the framework for this band is that they will take anything they want to express, musically or lyrically, and make it work.

If anything written here resonates with you, then you absolutely need to own this album. I steadfastly refrain from platitudes like “album of the year” because music is not a competition or a race between artists, but…good luck finding a richer or more fully realized album this year than this one.