If you look at pictures of Albuquerque, New Mexico you’ll see images of desert sand, mountainous plains, cowboy country. Tumbleweeds float softly by while you see a band setting up. Train Conductor hang their coats up on cacti just richly sprouting through the city concrete and get ready to play. It is a perfect setting for their brand of tropical desert waste psych rock.
Not that Geodesic follows any fixed style marker or genre trend. Trainconductor do what they want on this debut album. Throughout the record they shapeshift from psychedelic jams into a catchy multi-vocal slacker pop songs, brooding soundscapes, noisy guitar avalanches, and more. A multi-colored sound palette of loud and psychedelic guitar music firmly rooted in American song writing tradition. It is an exciting sound, a warm bath of distortion and feedback.
A warm Albuquerque desert bath. A 90s bath, that takes us back to a time where the distorted guitar was the only instrument that really mattered and The Pixies were living gods. It is a good place to come back to, and Trainconductor are the perfect people to take us there.
I talked to Will Byrne of the band, who paints the picture of Trainconductor and explains to us what we can expect from these New Mexico musicians:
How are you? How was the pandemic period for you as a musician?
I am doing fantastic on this beautiful day in Albuquerque, NM. The pandemic was pure chaos for me. My family was stuck in an apartment complex in Philadelphia until we had enough and moved back to New Mexico.
Can you introduce yourself, how did you start your career, etc?
My name is Will and i started making music when I was 12 years old. I do not have a career in music. I am just extremely passionate about music.
What can you tell me about your musical background?
I started with violin and chorus classes. I took several guitar lessons when I was younger. I took a music theory class in college and then from there i just let my imagination go wild with music. I felt i had the tools necessary to move forward and progress at my own pace.
What does a regular day in your lives look like?
I wake up at 6 am for my meetings. I am a software engineer for a tech company. I get out of work at 2pm mountain time and make music until the kids get home from school. I then hang out with my children, eat dinner and go to bed, unless of course we have band practice.
What is the best thing about Geodesic?
The listener can sit down from beginning to end and be completely satisfied. Its a 40-something-minute trip through space and time.
What does the title mean, what does it stand for?
Geodesic is the shape of the earth. Metaphorically speaking what is the shape of the earth? The earth is in poor shape and we need to fix it. We need to rethink how we treat Mother Earth.
Where do you live and how does it affect your music?
I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Other than the natural elements surrounding me, the scene is very active and influences me to the point where I have to keep creating. Other scenes have not pushed me as much as this one. Its a good feeling.
Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?
HEALTH, BJM, Night Beats, Holy Wave, OSees, Dead Skeletons, Black Angels, MBV to name a few.
Can you tell me about how you went about composing and recording songs?
The band passed around several demos with the end goal of performing them live in the desert with Grammy winning producer Marc Whitmore, known for working with artists like Esther Rose, Black Keys, Jon Batiste, and Tennis. Marc used a very minimal setup to record us on my friends land using solar energy out in the desert. The band and producer met up September 26th, 2022 to camp in the field then we woke up and recorded all 11 songs live.
What are your immediate and long term future plans?
We will be having a release show here in town at Sister Bar and will hit the road afterwards. We have several shows booked throughout the west including a show at the Casbah in San Diego.
What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?
Purchase the vinyl record from bandcamp, do whatever you do to relax, then listen to Geodesic in its entirety just like you would back in the 60’s or 70’s and enjoy the groovy record.
Weirdo Shrine 