Kevin Bronson on February 5th, 2021

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L.A. gang of psych Hooveriii returned today with the new single “Control,” and not only does it sound like an immediate space-rock classic that will hypnotize you into submission while you’re running to the store for milk (see Rocío Mesa’s video below), but it has something to say about L.A.

“L.A. can be very discouraging when people prioritize image and lifestyle over their art,” says Bert Hoover, who founded the project as a solo venture. “I think anyone can be guilty of this. L.A. is a cool fucking city and it’s really easy to get caught up in the web. If you spend too much time looking in the mirror, you’ll never leave your house.”

“Control” is the first single from Hooveriii’s album “Water for the Frogs,” their first for the Reverberation Appreciation Society. The album is out April 9.

The band — Hoover, joined by Gabe Flores (lead guitar/vocals), Kaz Mirblouk (bass/synths), James Novick (synths), Casey Sullivan (vocals/synths) and Owen Barrett (drums) — drew inspiration from Iggy Pop’s “The Idiot,” David Bowie’s Berlin albums and Soft Machine for the new release. The seeds were planted when the band toured Europe in 2019.

“Seeing all the old cities and beautiful landscapes while becoming closer as a band had a huge impact on this album,” Hoover says. “A lot of our favorite music came from the Krautrock scene in Germany from the late ’60s-’70s, and when we had a day off in Furth, Germany, we spent most of it writing the record. We were able to rehearse in an old German bunker that has been converted to a rehearsal space. It definitely had a strange energy that helped give this album light.”

They recorded the songs in Echo Park with producer-engineer Mark Rains.

||| Watch: The video for “Control”