Mind Spiders

Mind Spiders' revved-up garage-punk-pop is the brainchild of Mark Ryan, formerly of Denton, Texas punks Marked Men. When that band went on hiatus, Ryan began working on some songs of his own, including a solo project called the Crying Jags. Initially, Ryan planned for Mind Spiders to be a studio-only project. However, after releasing his debut 7" on Marked Men's former label Dirtnap in late 2010, he recruited a touring band that featured members of fellow Denton bands and labelmates such as High Tension Wires, Uptown Bums, and Bad Sports. Mind Spiders' self-titled debut album arrived in early 2011. Ryan's touring lineup joined him in the studio for the second Mind Spiders album, Meltdown, which boasted a fuller and more organized sound and songwriting. The group's third album, 2013's Inhumanistic, was recorded with a lineup of Ryan on vox/guitar/synth, Mike Throneberry on drums, Daniel Fried on bass, and Peter Salisbury on synth. Featuring more keyboards than usual and a fair amount of drum machines, the record's outlook and sound were inspired by Devo, Wall of Voodoo, and vintage horror movies.