Auckland’s alt-rock champions, and arguably one of Aotearoa’s finest rock groups of the modern day, Coridian, release a fresh new jam, State of Mind, for all to indulge in and headbang to.
Coming off the back of the triumphant single Rakshasa (which featured vocals from Michael Murphy, the frontman of the excellent Written by Wolves), State of Mind becomes the fourth release taken from the upcoming sophomore record Hava, due for release in March 2023.
Admittedly, this isn’t the first time I had heard this new tune! Just a couple of weekends ago, while playing alongside Written by Wolves, Pull Down the Sun and others, Coridian treated a bustling and energetic Tuning Fork audience to this brand new release. In saying that, I had had two cans of Garage Project’s Hapi Daze more than intended, so I’d be lying if I said I remember every part of the song!
Having now properly revisited State of Mind, I can safely report that yes, this new song is just as powerful as I remember.
A jagged guitar riff cuts an opening for the intro, before the drums, bassline and robust-sounding guitar chords churn along to a math-rock time signature. Along comes Dity’s vocals, pensive yet resolute. Impressively, his phrases dance effortlessly to the unconventional drum rhythm, switching between on-the-beat to syncopated syllables. Truly masterful stuff.
“Take the time to stop and to breathe out all of that shit living inside your own head; see what’s wrong”. I consider this pertinent to the attitudes of the current day, and certainly would have been relevant to what we all have seen over the recent couple of years! One would almost wager that’s one of the topics which inspired these lyrics…
“Just deny it, when you're blinded by the rage!” Yep, I think I’m on the money.
Coridian typically don’t often employ many tricky timings and rhythms, so those more familiar with their back catalogue will be right at home with the band’s signature sound which is unloaded in the choruses. The bass guitar and the pummeling drums, courtesy of Nick and Kris, respectively, propel the entire tune. The fuzz-laden, yet powerful guitar chords from Mike flesh out the foreground, as the vocals take the centre stage, which Coridian songs tend to do.
Sonically, this one's like A Perfect Circle matched with equal parts Chevelle. And upon writing that, it would make perfect sense for Coridian to share the stage with either of those international groups. Now that borders have opened back up more or less like pre-2020, anything is possible, you never know.
Having received plenty of praise on radio shows like The Rock, Generator FM and Bayrock 93.7FM, go on and experience State of Mind for yourself. It’s available on Spotify right now, and the accompanying music video will be ready next week, so follow them on YouTube and keep both eyes peeled!
Coridian is an alternative/progressive rock group from Auckland, New Zealand.
Formed in 2015, the band consists of brothers Mike Raven (Guitars/Keys), Kris Raven (Drums/Percussion), Nick Raven (Bass) & Dity Maharaj (Vocals/Artwork)
They’ve been described as, “Raven brothers (Mike, Kris and Nick respectively) work as a well-oiled machine; the gear box of which is Maharaj, his vocals taking the band from a hum to a scream within seconds” (Ambient Light)