The Amygdaloids, composed completely of NYU scientists, will release their second album Theory of My Mind on Knock Out Noise on June 29.
Theory of My Mind, which features guest appearances on two tracks by Rosanne Cash, blends classic rock chords and catchy melodies with a groovy, 60's-style backdrop. However, when one takes a closer listen to the lyrics, a common theme comes to forefront – these songs are all about the human brain!
Fronted by acclaimed neuroscientist and best selling author Joseph LeDoux, The Amygdaloids – which includes NYU neuroscientists Daniela Schiller (drums) and Nina Galbraith Curley (bass), and NYU environmental scientist Tyler Volk (guitar) – takes it name from amygdala. This small nut-shaped part of the brain, which processes memory and fear, happens to be the heart of LeDoux's studies. The thirteen tracks on Theory Of My Mind are a musical exploration of LeDoux's mental investigations, channeled through the passion of music that brought these four scientists together. There's nothing quite like learning about your brain while bobbing the head that encases it!
"The Amygdaloids offer a unique interpretation of what it means to think, and in these songs examine the scientific basis for our artistic impulses...the lyrics speak to the layman in all of us, our shared sense of cortex and medulla, and the way music makes our backbone twitch, our butt funky, and our feet keep a-slappin' on the floor, whether we're thinking about it or not. "
Lenny Kaye (The Patti Smith Band)
"Roots rock shares a longneck with power pop at a legendary pub in a Nick Lowe dream. These songs, with their jangling Fenders and hooks that bounce off the Brill Building all the way to Topanga Canyon, will free your mind, and you know what happens next..." Pete Kennedy (The Kennedys)
"Catchy melodies with lyrics inspired equally by the heart and the brain. What's not to like?" Dr. Daniel J. Levitin (Author of "This Is Your Brain on Music," Former VP of 415/Columbia Records, Professor McGill U.)
Track Listing:
1.) Mist of a Memory
2.) Mind Over Matter (feat. Rosanne Cash)
3.) Fearing
4.) Crime of Passion (feat. Rosanne Cash)
5.) How Free Is Your Will
6.) The Automatic Mind
7.) Theory Of My Mind
8.) Brainstorm
9.) Refractory Time
10.) Your Dreams
11.) Glue
12.) Imaginate
13.) Piece of My Mind
