Brooklyn’s own heavy psych trio River Cult are back with their third album, ‘High Anxiety,’ dropping November 7, 2025. This time around, they’re blurring the edges of their sound even more.

Nearly a decade into their journey, Brooklyn’s River Cult continue to experiment, blurring the boundaries of the heavy psych spectrum. Formed in 2015 by guitarist/vocalist Sean Forlenza, bassist Anthony Mendolia, and drummer Tav Palumbo, the trio quickly carved out a name for themselves with a fuzz-soaked sound that blends stoner and noise rock into something utterly hypnotic. Their 2016 self-titled EP and follow-up albums, ‘Halcyon Daze’ (2018) and ‘Chilling Effect’ (2020), both released through Berlin’s Nasoni Records captured that special chemistry.

But with ‘High Anxiety,’ River Cult have shifted into a sharper, more dynamic gear. The record marks a new era for the band, introducing drummer Eli Pizzuto (ex-Naam, Sinister Haze). While still unmistakably River Cult…this is something new.

<a href="https://rivercult.bandcamp.com/album/high-anxiety">High Anxiety by River Cult</a>

“For High Anxiety, we shelled out for a more high-end studio than our previous two albums—Studio G in Brooklyn,” says Forlenza. “We recorded with Jeff Berner there, who I’ve known for a while but only worked with once before on a solo recording. Working with Jeff in such a professional environment was a really great experience.”

The band stuck to their instinctual recording process, … no sterile overdubbing marathons.

“We stuck with our usual way of recording—no click or tracking and recording guitar, bass, and drums as a live band. We also banged it all out in three days, which is something I believe strongly in doing. Practice a lot beforehand… bang the album out quick. I really can’t stand dragging a recording out over long periods of time.”

Still, ‘High Anxiety’ finds River Cult expanding their sonic reach.

“Something we’ve been doing more and more with each album is adding overdubs and using different techniques in the studio to add to the sound,” Forlenza continues. “We still kept it quite minimal, but got more adventurous this time compared to our past albums. We were also open to Jeff’s suggestions rather than just keeping it as simple as possible. For example, we used two amps for guitar and bass, which really added to the huge sound you hear, especially when the fuzz gets cranked up.”

That sense of openness extended into the mix.

“Jeff also had a lot of freedom during the mixing process and while he still kept it quite straightforward, he added some flourishes here and there and effects to the vocals that I think sound great. Jeff also spent a lot more time mixing than we have on our previous records and I think it shows. He even added the organ that you hear during the chorus of ‘Mind the Teeth.’”

The addition of Pizzuto behind the kit injected a new pulse into River Cult’s sound.

“Another big change for us outside of the recording process this time around was our new drummer Eli,” Forlenza explains. “The record still sounds like a River Cult album but his drumming style is quite different than Tav’s, and I think it makes the album sound a bit more driving and ‘rocking’ than our previous albums. We had him come in with his own style rather than aping our previous sound, and I think it switched things up in a good way while still retaining our core style.”

That reinvigoration seems to have spread across the whole band.

“You’ll also notice more involved and dynamic bass playing on this record compared with our previous ones,” Forlenza says. “Anthony really took time to come up with interesting fills and parts and I think it really elevates the sound. The added amp mixed in also brings a clarity and fullness to the bass, really making it stand out but still sitting perfectly in the mix.”

Vocally and lyrically, ‘High Anxiety’ also marks a turning point.

“I tried to focus more on lyrics and singing on this record and keeping the songs a bit more concise,” says Forlenza. “I love a psychedelic band that goes on forever, don’t get me wrong, hah… but this time around I took influence from bands like Kyuss and Pentagram—going for a more aggressive and in-your-face approach—and really thought a lot about lyrics and took my time with them.”

Even as River Cult streamline, they’re finding new layers to their sound.

“I also added a few more guitar dubs than we ever have before on this album. I think it still sounds like a power trio that’s pretty stripped down, but I’m really happy with the added complexity this time around. For example, the leads on ‘Fast Crash’—that’s not something I’ve ever done on a record really. Going for that traditional guitar lead at the end of the song as an overdub rather than just doing it live. I’m also particularly happy with the layered melodic leads in the intro of ‘To Some Soft False Place.’ I used my 335 into a vintage Jazz Chorus the studio had for those and man it sounds great.”

Across its runtime, ‘High Anxiety’ feels like a band distilling their cosmic heaviness into something different. It’s still the River Cult you know, but revitalized, with a clarity that cuts through the fuzz.

Pre-order ‘High Anxiety’ on vinyl here!

Headline photo : River Cult (Credit: Susan Hunt)

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