genghis tron

At the end of 2008, it seemed as though the world was Hamilton Jordan and Michael Sochynsky’s oyster. The pair were two-thirds of experimental outfit Genghis Tron. Their sophomore effort, Board Up the House, had been named a Critics Choice album by The New York Times, among other accolades, including Decibel’s third favorite album of the year. Two years later, though, Genghis Tron went on hiatus, and after 13 years of almost total silence, it seemed as though the world had heard the last from Jordan and Sochynsky. ¶ “We always intended to write another album, but there was no timeline attached to that goal,” writes Jordan. The pair traded demos, seeing one another rarely, but keeping in touch for a decade. That changed in 2018. ¶ “We hung out for a weekend in New York, and without even planning to, we started writing a new song together,” Jordan continues. “It felt so good to be collaborating again, and we knew then that if we were ever going to make another album, we had to dive in and make it happen.” Now, they’ve completed the third Genghis Tron album, Dream Weapon.

The pair continued without founding vocalist Mookie Singerman. “When Michael and I first started writing the new album, we had assumed Mookie would be involved,” says Jordan. “But once we got serious about actually finishing the thing and reaching out to Relapse, we all realized that Mookie would not be able to put the time and effort into the album that it needed. The three of us decided that it would be best for us to move on without him, and he gave his blessing for us to work with someone new.”

Genghis Tron’s new vocalist, Tony Wolski, stepped in after being introduced to Jordan two years earlier, referred by none other than Kurt Ballou, who also produced Dream Weapon. He’s not the only addition to the band, either. For the first time, instead of a drum machine, Genghis Tron have a drummer— Nick Yacyshyn.

Yacyshyn’s name should be familiar to some Decibel readers—he sits behind the kit for Sumac as well as Baptists, and is known for his intense drumming. He came to Jordan’s attention after the latter caught a Sumac show, and was the only percussionist considered for Genghis Tron.

“Early into our hiatus, we agreed that if we ever made music again, we wanted to play with a drummer,” Jordan says. However, Yacyshyn’s blast-free Dream Weapon performance is often measured, even minimal, befitting the more hypnotic and psychedelic nature of the album.

“When we started writing this album, we very quickly realized that trying to revisit or recreate the vibes on Board Up the House or [2006’s] Dead Mountain Mouth was not going to be interesting,” writes Sochynsky. “The thing we find interesting right now is writing music that you can get lost in.” —JOSEPH SCHAFER