What a treat to wake up to…this mind-bending version of Jesse Colin Young’sDarkness, Darkness as interpreted by all-star collective The Third Mind.
And who are The Third Mind? according to their PR:
What began as a free-form studio experiment between Dave Alvin (Blasters) and Victor Krummenacher (Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker, Monks of Doom, Eyelids), inspired by the spontaneity of Miles Davis’ improvisational work, The Third Mind morphed into a supergroup enlisting guitarist David Immerglück (Counting Crows, John Hiatt, Monks of Doom, Camper Van Beethoven), drummer Michael Jerome (Richard Thompson, Better Than Ezra, John Cale), and singer/songwriter Jesse Sykes (Jesse Sykes & The Sweeter Hereafter), whose mesmerizing vocal presence Alvin credits as the band’s anchor. “To me, Jesse’s vocals are the glue that holds this whole thing together,” says Alvin. “Her voice is so unique, and she sings with such intense introspection that it just sucks you in.”
Turns out this new version of Darkness, Darkness will appear on the band’s third album, Right Now!
Recorded live over four days at 64 Sound Recording Studio in Los Angeles, Right Now! is a masterclass in instinct and improvisation by skillful musicians meeting in real time to find the songs as they go. “Everything about this record is intuitive,” says GRAMMY award-winning singer/songwriter and guitarist and The Third Mind co-founder Dave Alvin. “It’s five musicians walking a tightrope, improvising in dialogue with each other and finding the songs in real time.”
Like its predecessors, Right Now! draws heavily from the 1960s songbook, reimaging classics with fearless creativity. The unpredictable and engrossing sonic journey is a boundary-blurring blend of psychedelic rock, folk, blues, and soul, featuring expansive, kaleidoscopic take on songs by Elizabeth Cotten, Otis Rush, Pharoah Sanders, and Mimi & Richard Fariña, alongside one standout original: the hauntingly sensual “Before We Said Goodbye,” which channels the atmospheric heights of Jefferson Airplane.
From the reworking of Elizabeth Cotten’s “Shake Sugaree,” filtered through Fred Neil’s 1966 version, to the eerie traditional murder ballad “Pretty Polly,” which lands somewhere between The Grateful Dead and Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Right Now! is “not a concept record,” says Krummenacher, “but there’s a darkness that flows beneath the surface of everything (including Lou Beach’s brilliant collage on the cover).” The band unleashes a searing interpretation of “Reno, Nevada” by Mimi & Richard Fariña and an ominously piercing take on Otis Rush’s “Reap What You Sow” before closing on a transcendent note with Pharoah Sanders’ “The Creator Has A Master Plan.”
Despite the album’s sprawling nature, The Third Mind abides by a few core guidelines: show up, don’t overthink it, and surrender to the moment; no rehearsals, no written arrangements, no discussions on approach, just a list of songs and keys meant to serve as a guide on the band’s journey toward wherever the spirit takes them. “We record in a circle all looking at each other and cut everything live in just two or three takes,” says Dave. “It’s simultaneously the most old-fashioned and most modern way we could make a record. Every single note we play is in service of the song and our interpretation of it in that moment.”
Their self-titled 2020 debut album earned acclaim from American Songwriter, which praised it as “a captivating, often enthralling journey,” while The New York Times placed their sound at the crossroads of “Appalachia, the Byrds, and John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme.” 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 – Live Mind, which also featured guitarist Mark Karan (Ratdog, Phil Lesh).
In support of the new album, the band will play a West Coast run of dates beginning June 28 in Northern California, with additional Midwest and East Coast shows to be announced soon. A complete list of dates is below and tickets are available here.
And as a tribute to recently-fallen guitarist Mick Ralphs, here is Mick, in a rare vocal performance with Mott The Hoople, singing and playing on their version of Darkness, Darkness, taken from their criminally underrated album, Brain Capers (1971),
And going back to the source, here is the songwriter himself, Jesse Colin Young, who also died recently, with his band The Youngbloods and the original version of Darkness, Darkness from 1969:
