Today’s Pitchfork review of Psychic Ills’ Mirror Eye (a 1.4!) angered me. It’s fine for the critic to not like the album, but to slam it for not being what he wants it to be is just ridiculous. (Gist: So-called peers like Animal Collective write actual “songs”; why can’t Psychic Ills do the same? Why aren’t they “toning down oddball inclinations in favor of pop structures and greater accessibility”? Um, because they have other intentions, maybe?).

The Pitchfork critic also presumes things—that Psychic Ills put no effort into Mirror Eye—that he has no way of knowing is true, unless he sat in on the recording sessions. Worst of all, the critic—even though he professes admiration for the admirable Valet and White Rainbow—doesn’t seem to be a fan of drones, minimalism, and hypnotic repetition, of which Mirror Eye is an excellent, generous font.

Sure, this post simply boils down to a dissection of two writers’ opinions about an admittedly fringe album, but I would hate for potential listeners to be turned off by a misguided review of what I think is a great psychedelic opus.

Below is a portion of my Mirror Eye review that will appear in XLR8R.

Mirror Eye [is] a slightly less Thirteenth Floor Elevators-go-shoegaze-rock affair than 2006's Dins, which is pretty otherworldly in its own right. "Mantis" opens Mirror Eye like some epic, early-'70s synth composition, stoically modulating and Doppler Effecting asteroid-dust storms… suggesting what peak-time Hawkwind would sound like if they recorded for Kranky. That sets the hypnotic, stoned tone for the rest of Mirror Eye. Shafts of mesmerizing, Eastern-ish space rock à la Grails and Scenic also shape Psychic Ills' deeply psychedelic m.o. while the glassy-orbed, languorously seductive "Eyes Closed" is space rock dubbed to infinity. Psychic Ills have more than one way to inspire bliss.