Here's what I love about New Candys: they're from Venice—actual Venice, Italy, not the California boardwalk—and they sound like they recorded in a fog-choked garage somewhere between Cologne 1971 and Portland 2014. That's the magic of neo-psychedelic rock done right. You get the motorik pulse of krautrock, the fuzz pedal worship of modern psych revivalists, and enough garage rock snarl that it never floats away into incense-scented irrelevance.\n\nThe band emerged from the Venetia underground in the early 2010s, and they've been refining this formula across multiple albums for Fuzz Club Records and their own Wild Honey imprint. What separates them from the crowded field of reverb-addicted psych acts is their commitment to propulsion. These aren't ambient drones or noodling jam sessions. New Candys lock into grooves that feel built for forward motion, which is precisely why tracks like "Surf 2" and "Thrill Or Trip" work so well at 135-140 BPM. There's urgency beneath the swirl.\n\nWhen you're running to this band, you're tapping into something the Germans figured out decades ago: repetition creates transcendence. The way New Candys layer jangling guitars over steady, unrelenting rhythms gives you something to sync your stride to without demanding constant attention. It's meditative but never sleepy. Think of acts like Magic Shoppe or The Spyrals, who mine similar territory—that sweet spot where psychedelic textures meet garage rock's raw nerve. The Confederate Dead understand this balance too, though New Candys lean harder into the European tradition, that Can and Neu! lineage that values the trance state.\n\nTheir catalog spans from earlier, more aggressive work to the spacier explorations on records like "Stars Reach The Abyss," but the through-line is always rhythm as the foundation. This isn't background music. It's music that acknowledges you're doing something repetitive and intense, and instead of fighting that reality, it enhances it. Run the Lakefront Trail with this band in your ears and watch the miles dissolve into cymbal wash and fuzz tone. Venice to Chicago, propulsion is universal.
New Candys
FAQ
What makes New Candys different from other psych-rock bands for running?
Most neo-psych leans too ambient or jam-heavy for running, but New Candys come from the krautrock tradition where rhythm is sacred. They lock into motorik grooves—that steady, driving pulse Can and Neu! perfected—and layer the reverb and fuzz on top. You get the atmosphere without losing the propulsion. Bands like Magic Shoppe and The Spyrals work the same territory, but New Candys have this Italian post-punk edge that keeps things tense and forward-moving.
What's the ideal run for New Candys tracks?
Mid-distance tempo runs, 6-10 miles, where you want to settle into a rhythm and stay there. Their tracks cluster around 135-140 BPM, which translates to a solid conversational-to-moderate pace for most runners. The hypnotic quality works beautifully on long straightaways—the Lakefront Trail, river paths, anywhere you can zone out and let the repetition do its work. Not for intervals, not for easy recovery. For the in-between miles where you're chasing a trance state.
Which New Candys album should I start with?
If you're using them for running, grab "Dark Love / Surf 2" first—it's got the garage rock energy and the title track is already in two of our playlists. "New Candys As Medicine" leans heavier into the psych sprawl but still maintains tempo discipline. "Stars Reach The Abyss" is moodier and more expansive; save it for when you're comfortable with their sound and want something darker for dawn or dusk runs.
Are New Candys really from Venice, Italy?
Yes, and it matters. They're not replicating the California psych-surf scene; they're filtering it through European post-punk and krautrock. You hear it in the production—there's a coldness, a discipline beneath the reverb that feels more Düsseldorf than Los Angeles. Fuzz Club Records out of the UK released much of their work, connecting them to that broader European psych underground that includes acts like Ghostwoman and Black Market Karma. It's a different bloodline than American garage revivalists.
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