THE SHRUBS on Psychedelic Discontent and the Art of Letting Go

Emerging from the lo-fi undercurrents of psych-rock and experimental haze, The Shrubs are less a band and more a mutating thought-form: shifting, shedding members, and shape-shifting through soundscapes that feel like dream transmissions from a parallel timeline.

Rooted in introspection and restless curiosity, their latest work, ‘Fall Behind’, drips with the kind of haunted sincerity that turns repetition into ritual. In this conversation, frontman Miguel peels back the layers of their process, from quiet revelations behind the wheel to abandoned songs left to decay like forgotten altars. It’s a glimpse into a creative psyche that resists easy categorization, where solitude fuels invention, genre is a loose suggestion, and escapism is not a retreat, but a rebirth.

I’m sure fans would love to know more about your backstory. How did you all come together, and what journey led you to form this band?

The Shrubs have existed as a recording entity since around 2013. I would say. We have had various members come and go. On ‘Fall Behind’, it was I (Miguel), Sophie, and Josh. Josh has since left the group, so it is presently Sophie and me Josh and I are siblings; Sophie and I were co-workers, actually. I have always been an artist as far back as I can remember, either through the visual arts or via music.

I think the urge to form a band was primarily born out of my general dissatisfaction with the music I was being exposed to when I was really young. I just started writing songs that I wanted to hear!

Given the state of mainstream culture that permeates how we consume media, how would you introduce your music to a stranger?

Well, generally I just tell people it’s psychedelic rock, because that can encompass music as diverse as The Silver Apples to say The Black Angels or even The Jesus and Mary Chain or Melodies Echo Chamber. It’s a useful label because it at least gives them the impression that it will be “rock” and a bit left of center. At least that’s my intention whenever I do actually show a stranger some of our songs. I always let them know it is far from “mainstream”.

Is there a specific philosophy or worldview that influences your music? What do you want people to think about or feel when they listen to your songs?

I don’t think a philosophy is specifically implied in the music or lyrics themselves. I do think, however, that my own particular viewpoint on reality probably does come through, as the vast majority of our songs are written by me and are usually introspective, so at least in a vague way, some of that must come through.

I think how I would like people to feel while listening is very ”song specific,” it would depend on the track, really. But generally, it would be cool if people felt how I do when I listen to music I really like, a sort of out-of-body, getting lost in the song kinda feeling, a facilitator of escapism.

And if you had to pick one track that shows people who you are as an artist, which one would it be?

I think the track ‘Walking through Walls’ is my personal favorite, a bit of an artistic high point in my opinion.

When you start working on a new project, like your recent single ‘Fall Behind,’ do you already hear the music in your head, or do you prefer to experiment and see where it takes you?

I ALWAYS start writing in my head first; I’m pretty much constantly tossing musical ideas around mentally. I mean, even when I’m talking to someone, I might zone out and start thinking about a melody or something I’m mentally working on. By the time I actually sit with a guitar or piano and start working out chords and arrangements, there’s usually a skeletal form of the song in my head that gets fleshed out as we go along.

There are times when what I planned just sounds boring or horrible, and we’ll have to pivot to a ”plan B,” usually a reworking of the original idea. Sometimes, tho, we’ll just abandon the track if it’s kind of gone to its logical conclusion as an artistic statement, and it’s one that just isn’t that good, we’ll just jump to another track and work on that one instead.

For this release, what was the creative process like? Were there any unexpected twists or challenges that shaped the outcome?

‘Fall behind’ is fairly unique. I wrote the song years ago, recorded a solo version of it, etc, then just kept it on the back burner for years. I always liked it, but that first version had more kinks than I cared to iron out at the time, so I just semi-abandoned it.

We finally revisited it a few years ago, recorded some of the foundation tracks to it, and in between other projects, I’ve been slowly working out all the interwoven guitar parts that are happening during it. I also completely rewrote the lyrics to make them more contemporary to what was happening at that moment in time.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind, and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter this state more easily?

Not sure if this is the politically correct way of thinking about it, but maybe it’s all subjective in the end anyway. I don’t know if I believe in creativity as a certain frame of mind, or flow state, if you will. I think that if you happen to be someone who thinks or operates just a shade differently than the people around you, you tend to solve issues or come to conclusions that happen to be different than your particular set of peers.

There have been a lot of cases of artistic ”convergent evolution” where two people on opposite sides of the planet solved an artistic ”problem” in the same way, independent of each other. I think most people close off that wellspring of ”free thinking” that every child has, where every option as to how to draw something, or sing something, or solve problems is a viable one.

I’m not sure why some of us can keep drawing from the well into adulthood, and others have to work at it to tap back in, but that’s my perspective on it at least. Personally, I usually have too many ideas, so it’s more of a question of which ones to pursue and develop, and which ones are just too out there to work with! I would say that solitude helps a lot for me personally to eliminate any distractions.

How do you know when a track is ready? Does it ever become difficult to refine ideas or stop perfecting?

I think you kinda just know in a way, usually there is a point of diminishing returns, where the new parts start to detract from something else, instead of behaving like a sonic flying buttress to the main theme or melody or idea, they start to weigh the whole thing down. Intention is key in that regard. You can have a lot of ornamentation, as long as the machine as a whole functions seamlessly. If not, they all just become a burden, hopefully carried by a melodic engine.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise, or reading play?

Hmm, I would say very little…I mean, you can create while driving, watching a movie, or smoking something; it doesn’t really matter. It’s all mental, not really external at all. I mean, people have woken up with songs or parts of a song they heard in a dream, right?

I think the real talent lies in the ability to recognize that something you’ve thought of or heard is potentially special and to translate it in a way that is at least semi-appealing to others…if you want to share it and have people actually want to listen to it more than once. Sometimes the best art is the stuff you make just to share with yourself!

Guilty pleasure time. What would you say are some of your current most guilty pleasures? All is fair: games, food, books, video games, whatever floats your boat. Let us have it.

Hmm, lately I’ve been getting a kick out of hacking old video game consoles, like the PS3 or original Wii, etc. The PS3 has some utilitarian value once you break into its OS one of the hacks I found disables the region locking, so that’s pretty useful. Not sure if that is a guilty pleasure per se or a borderline crime tho!

What music have you been listening to recently, and what excites you for the remainder of the year?

At the moment, I’ve been playing a lot of Fikret Kizilok. I don’t understand Turkish at all, but I like the production; it has this mono, AM radio frequency wave to it, very soft and devoid of singularity. Also, the scales and timing are unpredictable to my Western ear! So it’s interesting..to me anyway.

Conversely, I also like to listen to old YouTube vaporwave channels; a lot of them seem to be dead, abandonware from the mid-2010s, but I love the varied creativity that was happening with that whole movement, semi-punk values, recycling terrible muzak, and making it beautiful.

What’s next for you?

We actually have already written and recorded a few songs for the next album, so the future is kind of here already, it just hasn’t been released yet! With the departure of Josh this year and Laura last year, our sound will definitely be a bit different, so that’s always exciting.