Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Pogo Rodeo (2025) (Hi-Res)

Psych-Rock Wizards on a Roll. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are one of the most exciting forces in modern rock. Formed in Perth in 2014, their blend of frantic psychedelic riffs and whimsical charm has established them as one of the best psych-rock groups in the world right now. Their sound channels the spirit of classic ‘60s-’70s psychedelic rock from Led Zeppelin to Black Sabbath to The Beatles, but turbocharges the nostalgia with chunky modern adrenaline and multi-layered guitar harmonies. There’s no down-tuned seven strings or machine-gun double bass drums, instead citing Monty Python and The Mighty Boosh as key influences on their style and humour. The band’s instrumental skill is top-notch with scorching riffs, powerful drumming, and swirling basslines with as many psychedelic breakdowns and dizzying tempo shifts as there are catchy earworms and danceable grooves.

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have entered a prolific hot streak, and are about to deliver their second full-length album of 2025. Their most recent release Carpe Diem, Moonman was an inspired punch of explosive euphoria, one of the standout rock albums of the year, but rather than being spent from such a success, they seem to be creatively invigorated and back for more in just a few short months!

We caught up with bandleader Jack McEwin to find out more:

What’s the secret behind 2025’s burst of productivity in the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets camp?

A baby, a thirst for adventure and a time to step things up a gear. After we played Glastonbury in ‘24 I was kinda ready to pack it all in, that was number one on our band bucket list since the beginning. It was only a couple of weeks later when I got home and found out I was having a baby, so I was in deep in thought, very much my first encounter with a real big boy decision, a classic crossroads. Do I keep cracking on with the Crumpets or head back to the building site and get a trade? I owed money, I wasn’t financially in a position to raise a kid or to keep doing music full time. So I spoke to my wife, with the band, close friends and decided we’d all put so much into this that to leave would feel like giving up. I knew I wasn’t finished deep down and that we still had our best work unreleased. I had to ramp things up musically, give it a proper crack and throw everything I had at writing this year.

I’m stoked that CDM has gone down well with fans cause if that flopped then I’d genuinely be digging holes right now. I’ve got something more than myself to work for. Not that I wanna consider making music work and I don’t want to release everything I write, but being in a position where I’ve already finished two records and I think the next album is our best work is a great feeling. I’ve bought myself a few more years at this and now I want to keep setting new boundaries and seeing how far we can take this weirdly addictive, scarily beautiful monstrosity.

How did you manage to write and record so much so quickly?

I just locked myself away for months when we came home from tour, bought a few different instruments and hummed like a pigeon when I slept. I’d have weeks where I was on rolls, weeks where I’d scrap everything, weeks where I’d consider swapping genres and breaking into the electronic world. I broke my elbow about a month before Pogo Rodeo was set to be mastered and couldn’t play guitar so Chris came round and scribed everything for me. I genuinely don’t know how we made that deadline but I’m stoked with that record.

How is Pogo Rodeo going to differ from Carpe Diem, Moonman?

There’s so many new instruments and vocal effects on Pogo Rodeo. Because I broke my elbow I was down to one arm, I could only really play synth and I’ve never laid keys down on anything. I had an Omnichord lying around so I plugged that in for the first time and this fresh feeling came over me like I should have had years ago… NOT EVERY SONG NEEDS TO BE SO COMPLICATED! With one hand I was writing chord progressions, slowly they were forming into songs, even slower they were being recorded. I got Chris to lay down some guitars to build a better foundation of where the songs should head and then when I could hold a pick again I finished everything off with a sitar, a 12 string, an acoustic and fat dabs of electric. The OG album I had before I broke my elbow was completely different, it went from classic Led Zep to dreamy pop ballads and country punk riffs. It had a bounce I enjoyed and a flavour which was new for us so I rolled with it.

You guys seem to have rejected a lot of modern developments in rock. Is this a conscious rejection or are you just not drawn to down-tuned guitars and cavernous breakdowns?

I’m forever changing what I listen to and that helps a lot. I go months without actively putting music on in the car or at home cause there’s music being played everywhere, it’s hard to escape. Shopping centres have a vibe, cafes, lifts, hotel lobbies, planes, everything these days has a soundtrack so you can’t 100% tune out. Sometimes you pick up a melody from a passing van or a bird or a street that sticks with you and then build from that.

It’s not so much songs rather bands tone, like Gojira or Meshuggah or Loving or Heather, there’s a vibe I like rather than a melody I wanna copy. Then once we play live I love the energy everyone brings, I get G’d up that I wanna write to reflect that.

I was also writing a softer project called ‘Yellows’ with my friend at the time so I didn’t have to dilute Crumpets as much and stick the nice songs on that record, I could properly focus on what works live and, for now, heavy, HEAVY, HEAVIER is the ticket.

Beyond the world famous bands and TV shows we’ve already mentioned, what are some weirder, or more local influences that formed your sound?

The Big Les Show is a classic, that fully roped us in. We did a list of our top 10 movies recently on tour and I was surprised my picks were all dark thrillers and old war movies. If I wanted to make a movie it would be some absurdist comedy though so maybe I’m like that with music too.

Can you talk about the visual aspect of your videos and album artwork?

That’s all Ollie Jones! The man’s a wizard, he’s a proper genius so I just let him get on with what he can imagine.

The album artwork for CDM & Pogo Rodeo was my life long friend Tim Meakins. We both went to college and University together studying design, he made our first posters and T-shirts and I’ve always loved his style. I don’t really know why we stopped working together but it’s great to have him back on board with everything and hopefully we can keep working together for many years to come.

Your music is extremely complex, but remains super catchy and melodic too. Is that difficult to balance when writing songs, and do you road test material much before laying it down on an album?

Thanks! Nah I just go to town in Ableton and see what comes out. We always have that testy time before a tour to see what songs are actually possible to play live, so a lot of what gets put on an album is nearly impossible without ten more people. But I feel like I’m making a better conscious effort to think about the live shows before I record now.

What do you want the audience to go away from a Psychedelic Porn Crumpets show feeling?

Hopefully better than before they walked into the venue. It’s great to come off stage drenched in sweat knowing you’ve put in a good shift, a good show, played the best you can and see everyone smiling. We never try to take it too serious else we’d lose what it’s all about: enjoying ourselves. Hopefully that reflects across.

Do you feel like you guys are part of a broader scene or revival, or do you feel like you simply exist in your own lane?

Nah there’s hundreds of bands who we’re inspired by in the scene, Pond, Oh Sees, Frankie’s, UMO. I think what differed with us though is that we can also be thrown in with Idles, Black Midi, Maruja. Then if we went further into it we cross over with Coheed, SOAD, QOTSA. Then if you keeeeep going back there’s a bunch of older fans who come for the King Crimson, Beatles, Floyd aspect so it’s nice where we sit.

We’re obviously heavily tied into Australian Psych Rock but with each album we release I hope people can see we’re doing something different to set ourselves apart from them.

How do you stay healthy and sane enough to remain friends and keep up such a great creative output whilst maintaining such a heavy touring schedule?

Do we? Haha. I don’t know about the sanity part but we’re closer than we’re ever been. I feel like when we step on stage we turn into one cohesive membrane that ploughs along at full speed. When we come off we know the flavour of everyone’s farts, we know what’s going on in each other’s lives and we support one another through anything. It’s a marriage.

What is the ultimate goal of Psychedelic Porn Crumpets?

World domination! Haha Nah to write good music, stay grounded and enjoy everything that floats by.

Tracklist
1. Salsa Verde (03:24)
2. Born In the A.D's (04:33)
3. Manny's Ready to Roll (03:41)
4. The Real Contra Band (03:09)
5. Japan (04:22)
6. Unconventional Daze (03:26)
7. Texas Rangers (03:41)
8. Looniversal (03:01)
9. Watermelon (04:09)
10. Bowling With Tim (03:53)
11. Heading to Fringe (04:47)