With their latest song “Outta My Mind”, the Virginia rock ‘n’ roll band called People’s Blues of Richmond bring to mind two recent rock LPs in particular, both by the same artist: the Black Keys. The first is 2014’s Turn Blue; the psychedelic washes of “Outta My Mind” align quite closely with the ’60s psych mood of that album. Most of all, however, it brings to mind the megahit record Brothers, with its retro-minded production and songwriting.
As it turns out, these parallels are not merely by coincidence. In recording “Outta My Mind”, People’s Blues of Richmond sought out producer Mark Neill, who co-produced Brothers alongside the Black Keys and Danger Mouse.
Singer/guitarist Tim Beavers tells PopMatters more about the song and the collaboration with Neill, “‘Outta My Mind’ is a song about a guy who has a couple of things driving him crazy. The girl he used to be in mutual love with is with a new guy. He begins to see love as dull and futile and his memories become blurred from alcohol binges. He eventually consciously decides to let himself fall into blissful madness. It’s a song that was inspired partially by bouts of depression — the ones that feel like they’re your new normal and like you’ll never come back from them — combined with my interest in madness and heartbreak and my love for the key of A minor.
“Recording ‘Outta My Mind’ was a new experience for us. We were ridiculously excited to record with Mark Neill in his home town in south Georgia. For years, we’ve driven around listening to the Black Keys’ Brothers album marveling at the huge sound of the recordings, so getting the opportunity to work with the man behind the curtain on that album was a dream come true. He had a painstaking, old-fashioned method of recording that really captured the character of the instruments, the band, and the song. The session pushed us all individually and as a group, and I think we ended up with a really special song unlike any we’ve recorded before.”