The Mystics – Black Widow – Musician Spotlight

2020 was a difficult year for pretty much all of us, but those of us who like to flex creativity in collaboration with others definitely were hit hard by the pandemic and this new norm of social distancing. Many indie bands such as The Mystics are stuck not only with the inability to play local venues but also potentially met with some difficulty in recording new music with the synergy of being together while recording. Still, many musicians started this roadblock directly in the eyes and came out of the year with new work inspired by the many unique challenges musicians have been met with.

Canadian rock group The Mystics are an example of such a band who triumphed through the difficulties in 2020 to take their music in a new direction and release an exciting new single for their fans in the Great White North and beyond. Grappling not only with the complexities that the COVID-19 pandemic brought into the logistics of recording new music but also with the departure of two of the band’s members, The Mystics ended 2020 on a high note by releasing their newest single, “Black Widow,” on December 28th.

This latest effort from The Mystics takes a bit of a departure from their earlier work; while there is still a clear blues-rock influence in the single, the band promises that their latest represents a sort of breaking point from the strict “old school rock” image that they once found themselves feeling pigeonholed in. Even comparing “Black Widow” to their previous single, “American Man,” shows that the band is excited to take their music in new directions as we continue to navigate the strange yet familiar new world we find ourselves traversing in 2021. (As a side note, I want to stress that The Mystics do Americana better in “American Man” than some bands do in their entire catalogs – and they’re Canadian!)

One of the most striking differences you may notice when comparing “Black Widow” to the band’s earlier work is the single’s sharply-pointed lyrics. The song mixes imagery of the venomous black widow with that of an alluring woman attending the group’s latest performance to paint the picture of a dangerous yet seductive force, calling us towards something we know might be hazardous yet we cannot resist. Perhaps this points to the group’s excitement for their future endeavors in 2021 while simultaneously acknowledging the uncertainty that the coming year will bring the band – and, frankly, all of us. Either way, you can’t really ignore the fact that the lyric “Black widow, killed a man” totally slaps.

The Mystics came out of the gate strong in 2019 with their debut album Burning Down; the year prior, they received backing to record this album from The Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent On Recording (FACTOR). Their lead single off this record, “Desert Ritual,” made a splash on Ontario airwaves, and by August 2019 the group ended up at the top of Reverbnation’s Canadian rock chart.

The Mystics have certainly come a long way from their beginnings a little over two years ago, and if “Black Widow” is any indication, they won’t be stopping any time soon. Despite a global pandemic, changes to their line-up, and the group’s hometown refusing to recognize daylight savings time, these Canadian rockers have started off 2021 with a bang and are promising even more new music later in the year. Wherever their newest efforts take them, my ears are definitely excited to follow.

Austin’s arbitrary rating for “Black Widow” is: 8 eyes. 👁👁👁👁👁👁👁👁 (…you know, like a black widow?)

The Mystics are a Barrie, Ontario-based psychedelic rock group. They can be found on Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and pretty much anywhere that you can stream music.

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