Post Animal: "We were uncertain of what the future of the band was"

There are stranger things indeed than those dreamt of by a psych-rock sextet from Chicago. Inter-dimensional mind flayers, for example, or demogorgon dogs with an affinity for nougat. But when it comes to taking a walk on the wilder side, there are few bands who bring that energy to life with such a vivid and freewheeling nature as Post Animal. Scaling a kaleidoscope of sonics somewhere between Tame Impala and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, the outfit are a force to be reckoned with.

"Oh man, I wish we'd have ventured into the death metal genre," drummer Wes Toledo laughs. "We kind of started as a country-psych project." Listening to debut album 'When I Think Of You In A Castle' it's instantly evident how far the outfit have come since they first started playing music together to "have some fun." Looking at the band now it's all systems go: they're signed to Polyvinyl Records, their first record is about to see release, and their tour dates stretch out well into the summer. But rewind two years, and the group almost ended before they really had chance to begin.

"When we wrote the record it was right before the TV show, Stranger Things, came out," Wes states. Sure, a Netflix series wouldn't usually have such an impact on a band's future, but when your guitarist is Steve Harrington (or Joe Keery, as he's known in the real world – who remains an inactive member of the band), chances are the show's scheduling is going to carry some weight. "We didn't know that it was going to turn into the massive hit that it was, but we figured that it would probably hinder us playing," Wes chuckles. And that wasn't the only hurdle the group had to face. "I was thinking about moving from Chicago, pursuing something else," the drummer admits.