An ominous forest is barely visible through the lens capturing it in grainy black and white. Is that you, Bela Lugosi? A siren howls from somewhere, an atmospheric drone drenched in tape hiss. But wait—is that a drum machine? What appears to be an old-school horror flick turns into a hazy psych rock track with a little more color, but not that much. The title screen reads “Mindsucker” in blood red. The drum machine starts pumping out a groove. It could be a horror movie or a music video at this point. Let’s find out.
This is the new music video by the Swiss psych/kraut rock band Harvey Rushmore & the Octopus. The Basel-based quartet has released three albums and toured Europe in recent years. After their last album, Freedomspacecake, released in 2022, the band returns in 2026 with their new record, Mindsuckers. While their last album featured a sunny surf rock version of their hazy psych sound, Mindsuckers is dark and spooky. But don’t take my word for it; watch their new video, “Mindsucker”!
Our protagonist is driving through a seemingly empty forest, his face looks haunted. It seems he is trying to escape the mindsucker, a bat-like creature which appears time and time again in the background. The terror our protagonist feels escalates, he drops his car is continues his journey by foot, right into an old, abandoned building. As he rushes by a stained mirror, the image of the mindsucker flashes over his face, making the protagonist pause his steps. What happens next? Well, you have to watch the video for that, I won’t spoil anything.
Harvey Rushmore & the Octopus clearly have a thing for old horror movies, which is one, if not THE major theme for this music video and from what I’ve already heard, their whole new album. This marks an interesting departure from their last album – while their krauty psych rock stays, the vibe drastically changed, spinning their sound into new territories. Nevertheless, “Mindsucker” is the darkest and most mysterious music video yet – the first video off Mindsuckers, “Acid River“, already teased some horror elements, while the second video, “Cloud Driver“, was suspiciously sunny and warm. Now, it’s full on horror.
Mindsuckers is out March 13 via Zürich-based label Taxi Gauche Records – if you like what you hear and see, make sure to pre-order the new album via Bandcamp. To stay spooked or psyched in the future, follow Harvey Rushmore & the Octopus on Facebook, Instagram or visit their website.
Band photo credits go to Nikita Thévoz!
