The Dream Syndicate and Ford Madox Ford
It’s easy to mock a lot of music that came out of the 1980s, but one genre that held up surprisingly well is the mildly psychedelic Paisley Underground of Beatlesque pop aspirants like World Party, XTC, the Bangles, Tears for Fears, and L.A.’s Dream Syndicate, which melded the prototypal punk of Velvet Underground with “Strawberry Fields Forever” style Britpop. Though not exactly chart-toppers, the ’80s were good to Steve Wynn and company, with four well-received albums to their credit before they called it quits right around the dawn of the ’90s. Wynn resurfaced with a new Syndicate in 2012, mostly as a touring entity intended for the aging alt crowd.
In 2017, they surprised many by releasing their first new studio album in 29 years, the aptly named How Did I Find Myself Here? It’s a surprisingly energetic and ambitious record, highlighted by a 35-year-old song from band practices that was resurrected for the release — “Like Mary,” a melancholy, gently strummed number that does indeed harken back to their earliest efforts. Though now minus two founding members, the support tour that hits the Casbah on April 21 will include Wynn backed by cofounding drummer Dennis “Duck” Mehaffey and longtime (since 1984) bassist Mark Walton, alongside Wynn’s guitarist from his band Miracle 3, Jason Victor.