Operating under the guise of Super 8, Paul “Trip” Ryan is a U.K. based singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has produced a hefty collection of cool recordings ranging from the utterly bizarre to jangle-rama power pop.

Every effort sporting the Super 8 tag promises adventure, and the latest single, ‘Out Of My Head’ kicks in as yet another imaginative event.

<a href="https://trip8.bandcamp.com/track/out-of-my-head">Out Of My Head by SUPER 8</a>

The track begins normally enough, as we’re treated to a segment of merry and melodic piano exercises before the scenario suddenly changes into a noisy jolt of backwards noodlings, distortion and general psychedelic mayhem. Skittering to and from between the two extremes, ‘Out Of My Head’ closes the door with a spot of bluesy folk sounds. Definitely a mishmash of sonic applications, the quirky composition manages to squeeze the triple influence of the Kinks, ‘Revolver’ era Beatles and Bob Dylan into one mind-twisting warped wonder.

Reflective of the chaos are the dreary lyrics, in which our narrator is nursing a broken heart. His love has left him, he can’t get out of bed, some random Phil Collins record has him crying in his coffee and he feels there is no point singing this song. But despite the bleak verse, “Trip” says he had a lot of fun recording the piece and purposely didn’t take the session too seriously. It’s always a pleasure to come across a tune that completely defies conventional standards, and ‘Out Of My Head’ certainly marches to its own cracked rhythm.

Beverly Paterson

Super 8 – ‘Out Of My Head’ (Super 8 Music)