The Los Angeles trio treats melody as gravity, holding collectively a sound constructed to shock and luxury in the identical breath.
Style labels not often survive contact with a working band. A band could begin with one sound in thoughts, however the music typically adjustments because the members develop and experiment. For Los Angeles-based MindFree, that pressure is the purpose. The band writes music that strikes between indie rock, psych-prog, funk, psychedelia, shoegaze, metallic, punk, and pop, typically inside the identical monitor. As a substitute of attempting to combine all of these influences into one sound, MindFree lets every music hold its personal character. The result’s a sound the band calls Wizard-Rock, constructed on melody however by no means locked to 1 fashion.
Impartial bands run into totally different variations of this downside continually. Streaming platforms and playlists reward artists who may be summed up in a single tag. A clear style makes a band simpler to put in an algorithm, on a competition lineup, or subsequent to related acts. Bands with a variety of influences are sometimes instructed to choose a lane, even when that blend is essentially the most attention-grabbing factor about them.
MindFree was fashioned in 2018 by guitarist and lead vocalist Mark Anthony Abbruzzese, who performs alongside drummer Ric Rosario and Curtis Ortega on bass, keyboards, and backing vocals. The trio don’t method each monitor with the identical system. Quite than conforming and narrowing its sound to suit into a simple class, MindFree lets every music’s temper decide which influences come ahead. That flexibility turns the strain to “decide a lane” into the inspiration of the band’s id.
The band’s two albums, MindFree, launched in 2021, and StarDust, launched in 2024, present how far that vary can stretch. StarDust leans into psychedelic and funk textures, whereas “Navigation” pulls extra towards metallic and pop.
Layered vocals, adaptable guitar tones, analog pedals and amplifiers, heavy bass, atmospheric keyboards, and driving drums give every music room to land wherever its temper takes it. Abbruzzese’s guitar sound can be formed by Black Volt Amplification tube amplifiers and customized guitars, together with work from Pharaoh Howell at Truetone Music.
The band’s catalog additionally consists of two cowl songs, a convention impressed by artists akin to Stevie Marvel and Skinny Lizzy. These two artists wouldn’t usually be positioned facet by facet, however they make sense inside MindFree’s musical world.
MindFree doesn’t see its vary as an issue. The adjustments will not be there to show the band can play a number of kinds. They assist categorical the problem, humor, frustration, and the fantastic thing about being human. A music can really feel comforting in a single part and unsettling within the subsequent with out both feeling misplaced.
This method has pushed the band into actual momentum. MindFree performs recurrently and has constructed an viewers by reside reveals and platforms together with Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube. In 2025, the band made it to the ultimate 20 in America’s Subsequent Prime Hitmaker Contest, which featured Alice Cooper on the judging panel. Since 2023, MindFree has additionally ranked as Broadjam’s high band or artist within the Indie Rock class on a month-to-month foundation.
MindFree additionally desires to acknowledge the individuals who have supported the band alongside the way in which, particularly their households, associates, and followers. The band offers particular because of engineer Cirilo Rios, Noah Dearborn and Jacob Williams of Wonderhaus Studios, videographer Dan Ramos, photographers Averie Rivera and Mathias Fau, and the trade professionals serving to broaden its attain.
MindFree launched a two-song EP in 2025 and is now engaged on its third album. The band can be wanting towards wider distribution, label alternatives, competition appearances, bigger venues, and opening slots for established touring acts.
For a gaggle that refuses to choose a single lane, the objective has by no means been to suit the format. It’s to make music for individuals who need to really feel multiple factor without delay.
SPIN Journal newsroom and editorial workers weren’t concerned within the creation of this content material.
