B-Side Guys

Philadelphia’s The Classic Hunt emerge with their debut full-length Last Chants as literary alchemists, transforming existential dread into sprawling psychedelic narratives that feel both ancient and urgently contemporary. Tyler Jeremy Hayduk’s vision operates through dense symbolic language that references everything from Jorge Luis Borges to Mayan mythology, creating work that demands multiple listens to fully appreciate its layered complexity. This isn’t background music; it’s immersive theater that requires active participation from listeners willing to engage with its philosophical ambitions.

The album opens with “Bottoms Up,” immediately establishing the collection’s preoccupation with cycles of destruction and renewal. Hayduk’s opening declaration serves as mission statement for what follows—music that confronts rather than avoids difficult psychological terrain. The song’s exploration of dreams versus reality creates framework for the entire album, with the narrator questioning whether transcendent experiences are genuine revelation or self-deception. The repeated phrase about leading “from the bottom to the bottom” suggests how leadership during crisis often requires descending further into chaos before emergence becomes possible.

“Know How” demonstrates Hayduk’s sophisticated approach to stream-of-consciousness lyricism, weaving together references to ego death, mystical experience, and Borgesian literary concepts. The track’s musical nod to Bowie’s “Heroes” provides emotional anchor for lyrics that might otherwise drift into pure abstraction. Lines referencing “the Zahir and the Aleph intertwined” reveal an artist comfortable with high literary reference while the repeated assertion “I don’t need slowed down” suggests forward momentum despite psychological uncertainty. This tension between confidence and confusion characterizes much of the album’s emotional landscape.

“Singapore” shifts toward more narrative territory while maintaining the collection’s surreal edge. The song’s exploration of departure and attachment uses exotic location as metaphor for emotional distance, while the relationship dynamics described feel both specific and archetypal. The track’s more conventional structure provides breathing space within the album’s dense conceptual framework, demonstrating the band’s ability to craft accessible moments without sacrificing artistic complexity.

“The Hang of Things” continues this balance between accessibility and depth, using domestic imagery—kitchen scenes, refrigerator light—to ground more abstract philosophical observations. The song’s central insight about being “only sure of doubt” provides key to understanding the album’s overall perspective. Rather than offering false certainty, Hayduk embraces uncertainty as potentially liberating condition. The track’s warnings about “bad ideas” and “Lynch mobs” connect personal psychological struggles to broader cultural violence, suggesting how individual and collective pathologies mirror each other.

The instrumental title track “Last Chants” provides crucial breathing space while demonstrating the band’s technical prowess. Drawing from The Mars Volta’s progressive intensity, the piece functions as sonic representation of the apocalyptic themes that permeate the lyrical content. The track’s placement at album’s center creates appropriate pause before the collection’s more emotionally direct second half.

“The Ringing” explores transformation through striking imagery of shedding skin and grains of sand coming together “with the feathers and the scales.” This reference to Quetzalcoatl mythology connects the album to broader cycles of cultural death and rebirth, while the personal narrative of making amends (“I spit terror in a young girl’s eyes / I’ve apologized”) grounds cosmic themes in human-scale consequences. The song’s question “Do you see me, too?” suggests how genuine transformation requires witness and recognition from others.

“Camazotz” represents the album’s most musically ambitious moment, with multiple guitar parts creating dense harmonic landscape that supports lyrics exploring domestic comfort and existential uncertainty. The track’s juxtaposition of mundane details—”cider spiked with Heaven Hill / An ashtray on a window sill”—with larger questions about earthly existence demonstrates Hayduk’s ability to find profound meaning in ordinary experience. The song’s exploration of loneliness and companionship feels particularly resonant given its references to death bat mythology and apocalyptic themes.

The album concludes with “The Lanternfly,” which brings the collection’s themes full circle through imagery of invasive species and technological alienation. The narrator’s description of himself as “the lanternfly in a landslide of lanternflies” provides perfect metaphor for contemporary artistic existence—individual voice within overwhelming cultural noise. The track’s gentle conclusion, described as “drifting into a dreamlike state,” suggests acceptance rather than resolution, acknowledging that transformation remains ongoing process rather than achieved destination.

What makes Last Chants particularly compelling is how it treats literary and mythological references as living elements rather than academic exercises. Hayduk’s integration of Borgesian concepts, Mayan mythology, and contemporary cultural criticism feels organic rather than forced, suggesting genuine engagement with these sources rather than superficial name-dropping. This depth prevents the album from feeling pretentious despite its obvious intellectual ambitions.

The band’s musical approach serves the complex lyrical content without overwhelming it. The genre-fluid instrumentation—spanning psychedelic folk, rock, jazz, punk, and blues—provides appropriate sonic landscape for lyrics that refuse easy categorization. Rather than simple eclecticism, this variety reflects the album’s thematic exploration of transformation and multiplicity.

The production throughout maintains clarity despite dense arrangements, ensuring that Hayduk’s intricate wordplay remains audible while the instrumental interplay creates appropriate atmosphere. This balance suggests understanding that effective art music must serve both intellectual and emotional functions simultaneously.

Last Chants succeeds because it understands that contemporary psychedelic music must engage with current cultural anxieties while drawing from historical artistic traditions. The Classic Hunt have created debut that feels both timeless and urgently relevant, addressing apocalyptic themes through personal narrative while maintaining hope for transformation despite acknowledging genuine cultural crisis.

Most importantly, the album demonstrates how sophisticated artistic ambition can coexist with genuine emotional accessibility, creating work that rewards careful attention while providing immediate impact for listeners willing to engage with its visionary scope.