The first time I heard Western Mass’s Psychic Blood they were added to a show I booked at the house I was living at in Waltham. The second time, playing a show with them in Holyoke. Both times Psychic Blood left a big impression. Initially, the band’s elements noise rock, punk, and shoegaze brought to mind band like Sonic Youth and Western Mass’s Dinosaur Jr. With each release, however, Psychic Blood’s sound has strengthened and become more their own. With their newest release, Nightmare Beaches EP, out now on Ascetic House, this has never been more evident. While the track “Won’t” feels like the culmination of the Autumn Curses cassette with its shoegazing punk, “Jagged Brain” has a more spacious sound, using a wall of guitar and feedback with reverb’d vocals and drums coming in and out vying for position in the song. Their 7”, Drrrty, is still available from Nerve Hold Records and they’ll be heading out on tour in August so make sure to check them out.