01/13/2026
The Third Mind (Dave Alvin's side project)
New video: New EP
Los Angeles, CA – January 13, 2026 – Psychedelic rock collective The Third Mind return with Spellbinder!, a four-song companion album to last year’s critically praised Right Now! that reconnects the supergroup with the founding concept that first brought its members together: spontaneous musical conversation. The album’s out March 13 and now available for pre-order here.
Today, they share the first track “Reap What You Sow” accompanied by its official video. Featuring assembled vintage stock imagery interwoven with live performance footage shot by Teemu Sipilä at The Chapel, San Francisco, January 20, 2024, the video was created, produced, and directed by Victor Krummenacher.
The album opens with a bold instrumental reinterpretation of “Spellbinder” inspired by Hungarian jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo, whose work has long influenced guitarist David Immerglück. “I’ve been a huge fan of Gabor Szabo my whole life,” Immerglück says. “When the idea came up to record “Spellbinder,” it felt like a no-brainer.” True to The Third Mind’s restless curiosity, Immerglück added an unexpected final layer using the iKaossilator synth app on his iPhone. “I thought it needed one more element,” he laughs. “Laying it down while watching Dave and Victor’s bemused reactions gave me unending mischievous joy.” The result is a hypnotic, free-form piece that blurs jazz, psychedelic, and ambient exploration.
“We wanted another instrumental, and an opportunity to flex our improvisational muscles. It was not so much about covering Gabor Szabo, but doing an improvised piece of music - that was always The Third Mind concept,” offers Dave Alvin. “If anything, this recording is as close as we’ve gotten to the original concept of the group. Right Now! and 2 (the second album) are more song based, and the improvs are based on the songs. Spellbinder is all based on improvisation.”
Also featured is a newly realized version of “Before We Say Goodbye,” expanding on the track first heard on Right Now! Alvin originally envisioned the song as “a combination of a Haight-Ashbury and R&B ballad. Willie suggested adding strings, and suddenly it felt like Marvin Gaye or The Chi-Lites,” Alvin recalls. That vision comes to life with lush string arrangements recorded by Stevie Blacke. Bassist Victor Krummenacher calls the result transformative: “Stevie took Willie’s arrangement to new heights by adding an octave violin—a very Motown move. I love doing these kinds of unexpected things with this band.”
Continuing a tradition that honors the legacy of Michael Bloomfield, Spellbinder! features “Reap What You Sow,” written by Bloomfield for blues icon Otis Rush. The song, which makes its vinyl debut here, was recorded during the Right Now! sessions but couldn’t fit on the vinyl due to length constraints. “Jesse sings it less like a blues shouter and more like a lover whispering the bad news in your ear,” Alvin says. Krummenacher agrees: “Jesse turns out to be a fantastic blues singer, and the interplay at the end is intense and spontaneous. It’s great to finally give this track a home on vinyl.”
Rounding out the release is a newly reimagined mix by renowned mixing engineer Tchad Blake of “Darkness, Darkness / The Creator Has A Master Plan,” two closing tracks of Right Now! merged into one expansive, cinematic, long-form epic realization. “It was great to have Tchad Blake reimagine it sonically, says Krummenacher, "Tchad’s a master, and his mix brings a new dimension to these songs.”
Praised for its “psychedelic rock that will blow your mind” (Grateful Web), and as “a must-hear release” (Best Classic Bands), 2025’s “Right Now! is their strongest yet” (Glide Magazine) and their most song-forward and expansive, serving as the group’s most fully realized studio album to date.
Their self-titled 2020 debut album earned acclaim from Glide Magazine who hailed “they may just be the coolest jam band out there right now,” while Magnet Magazine exclaimed “Not so much a supergroup as a great fu***ng band.” Following the band’s live debut at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and the 2023 release of The Third Mind 2 the band captured a series of tour dates for 2025’s sprawling The Third Mind - Live Mind, which also featured guitarist Mark Karan (Ratdog, Phil Lesh).
Formed by GRAMMY winner Dave Alvin and bassist Victor Krummenacher (Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker, Monks of Doom, Eyelids), who are joined in-studio by guitarist David Immerglück (Counting Crows, John Hiatt, Monks of Doom, Camper Van Beethoven), drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Better Than Ezra, John Cale), singer/songwriter Jesse Sykes (Jesse Sykes & The Sweeter Hereafter), and special guest Willie Aron (piano, organ), The Third Mind thrives on spontaneity inspired by Miles Davis’ improvisational work, recording live in a circle with no rehearsal, no written arrangements—just instinct, interplay, and trust.
"Reap What You Sow" - From The Third Mind - Spellbinder! Buy Now:Jesse Sykes: vocal, acoustic guitarDave Alvin: electric guitarMichael Jerome: drums, percus...
