Mind Spiders' revved-up and shape-shifting brand of garage-punk-pop is the brainchild of Mark Ryan, formerly of Denton, Texas punks
Marked Men. When that band went on hiatus, Ryan began working on some songs of his own, including a solo project called the Crying Jags. Initially, Ryan planned for
Mind Spiders to be a studio-only project. However, after releasing his debut 7" on
Marked Men's former label Dirtnap in late 2010, he recruited a touring band that featured members of fellow Denton bands and labelmates such as
High Tension Wires, Uptown Bums, and
Bad Sports.
Mind Spiders' self-titled debut album arrived in early 2011. Ryan's touring lineup joined him in the studio for the second
Mind Spiders album,
Meltdown, which boasted a fuller and more organized sound and songwriting. The group's third album, 2013's
Inhumanistic, was recorded with a lineup of Ryan on vocals/guitar/synth, Mike Throneberry on drums, Daniel Fried on bass, and Peter Salisbury on synth. Featuring more keyboards than usual and a fair amount of drum machines, the record's outlook and sound were inspired by
Devo,
Wall of Voodoo, and vintage horror movies. The group dug in deeper with its exploration of cooler, synth-based sounds on 2016's
Prosthesis. For 2018's
Furies,
Mind Spiders continued to follow a darker and more ambitious path, while the lyrics were informed by Ryan's study of Greek mythology. ~ Heather Phares