Dark Psychic is a two-piece electronic rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Vocalist, Clark Rendall, and guitarist, Nathan Greene played together in several Milwaukee-area bands in the early 2000’s, and began to collaborate again in March of 2019 after Clark returned to Milwaukee. While Rendall’s drum machine and synth loops bring to mind new wave and post-punk of the 80’s, Greene’s guitar tone evokes psychedelic garage rock and grunge. The name of the band is an abbreviation of the phrase “dark psychic force,” popularized by Marianne Williamson during her 2020 primary campaign, the idea of a fortune teller who looks into her crystal ball and only sees bad things.
Their debut album, Hallucination, tells the tale of disillusioned millennials and gen-xers navigating adult life in an economic and political wasteland, in the midst of multiple systemic crises. The title refers to the state of mental fatigue one experiences day-to-day while living in a country that is rapidly spiraling out of control. When each new day is more unbelievable than the last, we begin to question reality, which may explain the popularity of conspiracy theories. The album was largely written and recorded during the pandemic, and while there is a dark, cynical nature to much of it, many songs contain at least some glimmer of hope, with the ultimate theme being togetherness and solidarity.