PSYCHIC PIGS

Rock & roll lifer Brandon Welchez is back with 10 tracks of grimy, unhinged punk with new band Psychic Pigs! Primarily known as one half of psychedelic-bubblegum warriors Crocodiles, the new self-titled Psychic Pigs LP finds him in a similar mode to his previous projects Flowers of Evil and (Slovenly Recordings alumni) Xenu & the Thetans. The tunes range from driving Wipers-esque ruminations on our sick society to swaggering scum-rock that would make Sonny Vincent and his Testors proud. Or as one keen ear noted: “It sounds like if ‘Machine Gun Etiquette’ was recorded in Hermosa Beach.” The record, however, was not recorded in Hermosa Beach but in London with superstar producer Jonah Falco (Fucked Up, Career Suicide, Boss). Fueled by strong beer and Jamaican food, the duo (Jonah on drums and production, Brandon on guitars and vocals) cranked out the album over the course of 4 days. It is now our pleasure to unleash Psychic Pigs on the world. If speedy, manic punk is your thing, it’s time to get down in the dirt with the Pigs!

Two decades as one-half of the garage psych-pop duo Crocodiles confined San Diegan musician Brandon Welchez to the mid-fi n’ melodic end of the sonic spectrum, but his new project, Psychic Pigs, shows a different side with how the bleeding raw, hardcore punk and power pop of the Killed By Death compilations influenced him as The Jesus and Mary Chain has. Psychic Pigs certainly has a certain Robert Louis Stevenson novella angle to Welchez’s career, but the unhinged nature of the songwriting boils down to Welchez not sticking to his comfort zone.

Psychic Pigs was born from Welchez writing music he knew was too discordant for Crocodile’s tame sound. Recorded in April 2024 over four days while in London with Jonah Falco (Fucked Up, Bad Sports) manning the production helm and the drum kit, the project was taken back to the United States with the goal mind of forming a band that could replicate the aggressive live sound captured on the recordings. Connections throughout the years proved fruitful as the live band rounds out with Fake Fruits, Surfbort, and Choir Boy members. The march of the Pigs begins this month in downtown Los Angeles on March 19th as they make their live debut at The Escondite with their record release show held at Permanent Records Roadhouse in late May.  More dates are to come.

Psychic Pigs will be released on vinyl and through all DSPs on May 23rd through Slovenly Recordings. Pre-orders are running.