Nearly a decade into their journey, Brooklyn’s River Cult continue to experiment, blurring the boundaries of the heavy psych spectrum. Formed in 2015 by guitarist/vocalist Sean Forlenza, bassist Anthony Mendolia, and drummer Tav Palumbo, the trio quickly carved out a name for themselves with a fuzz-soaked sound that blends stoner and noise rock into something utterly hypnotic. Their 2016 self-titled EP and follow-up albums, ‘Halcyon Daze’ (2018) and ‘Chilling Effect’ (2020), both released through Berlin’s Nasoni Records captured that special chemistry.

On their third album, River Cult have shifted into a sharper, more dynamic gear. The record marks a new era for the band, introducing drummer Eli Pizzuto (ex-Naam, Sinister Haze) who injects a new pulse into River Cult’s sound. Across its runtime, “High Anxiety” feels like a band distilling their cosmic heaviness into something different and revitalized, with a clarity that cuts through the fuzz.