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No One Mind, the songwriting moniker of Durham, NC-based multi-instrumentalist Ellis Anderson, began in 2014 as a way for Anderson to shed the shackles of past creative discontent, and deliver a musical vision of his own. No One Mind’s 2016 Self-titled album and single Born Again / Baron Gain (both released on Third Uncle Records) grapple with feelings of betrayal and disaffection, with songs ranging from biting post punk to dissonant psych experimentation, melancholy art pop and folk balladry. North Carolina’s Indy Week named the record one of the ten best local albums of 2016, and Bandcamp Daily claimed “rarely has there been a record as focused and barbed in its execution.”
Following from the initial releases, No One Mind’s sophomore full-length Secondary Gain (2023, Third Uncle Records) places Anderson’s baritone-tinged vocals center stage, as he channels the redemptive struggle of different characters fixated on treachery, loss, and mistrust. Collaborating closely with Reed Benjamin (drums, synth) and Sam Logan (bass, guitar, synth) to form the record, Secondary Gain harnesses pop-psychedelic structure, muscular hooks, machinic rhythms, and heartfelt melodies to suck the listener in, and spit them out again in 3 - 4 minutes.
No One Mind’s most recent singles, Over My Dead Body / Holy Role-r (2023) and Watching the World (Fall Out of Love) (2024), both vinyl 7” releases on Third Uncle Records, return to Anderson’s roots as home recordist, with all material written, recorded, and mixed in his backyard studio. Here, the subject matter is personal and cathartic, with songs focusing on the passing of his close friend and former collaborator, regrets from teenage romance, and meditations on helplessness when confronted with a deluge of recent global tragedies. As No One Mind approaches the decade anniversary of its inception, insights continue to surface in the form of new songs from Anderson and his collaborators. No One Mind forges on.
