Mynd Reader

Music for the soul - Listen to our debut Album ‘MYND READER’ ⚡️ https://myndreader.ffm.to/myndreader

Boulder, Colorado – MYND READER’s self-titled debut album, set for release January 30, 2026, is built from the band’s personal and musical evolution. Rooted in spiritual reckoning, cinematic rock ambition, and the raw grit of lived experience, MYND READER emerges as one of the most defining new voices in modern rock, blending classic influences with a sound entirely their own.
The band is the convergence of three forces: Shelby Kemp, Tonin, and Brian Sachs, a veteran musician whose past lives include drumming for The Authority, the Bill Graham–managed NYC jam outfit that tore through the ’90s with cult-favorite ferocity.
Long before MYND READER existed, Sachs was deep in the Wetlands era, packing rooms and trading sweat with Phish, Blues Traveler, and Dave Matthews Band as Manhattan’s jam-rock scene roared at full tilt.
Looking back now, he sees MYND READER as the next chapter in a story that never really stopped. “If the Authority was fueled by youthful chaos and raw adrenaline, Mynd Reader is the grown version of that fire,” Sachs says.
“It’s shaped by digging into the soul. Back then I was chasing success; today I’m searching for truth. This album is the bridge between the guy I was in my twenties and the man I’ve become.”

The record, a ten-track concept LP, traces an emotional arc from collapse to clarity. At its core, it is about survival, redemption, and the restorative power of music. It invites listeners into MYND READER’s world, a trio forged from loss, reflection, and reawakening, told through blues-soaked vocals, atmospheric guitar work, and soul-pounding rhythms.
The genesis of MYND READER began when longtime friends and Boulder musicians Sachs and Tonin reconnected.
Sachs brought a notebook full of lyrics–personal revelations he calls downloads–and Tonin shaped them into immersive sonic blueprints.

The missing element arrived with vocalist and guitarist Shelby Kemp, whose powerhouse Southern, raspy voice gave the songs flesh and heartbeat.

“Tonin and I create from instinct, not ego,” Sachs explains. “He gives me the sonic skeleton, and I breathe life into it. When Shelby stepped in, suddenly the songs had a soul.”
At the center of the album is Sachs’ personal journey, one marked by grief, dissolution, relocation, and eventually renewal. “The core of this record is survival and salvation,” Sachs says. “These songs were born from a period when everything collapsed: my marriage, my business, my mother’s passing, my son leaving home. I wanted the record to feel like a hand reaching out in the dark.” The album mirrors the curvature of a psychedelic ceremony or a deep breathwork journey, moving from rupture, release, to reorientation and restoration.

The emotional centerpiece is the focus single “Home,” a soaring, stadium-sized ode to belonging, love, and the magnetic pull of the place we return to. “This one’s about the place you belong, whether it is a person, a town, or a song,” says Kemp. “For us, it is rock and roll. It’s home.”

“When I first heard MYND READER, it took me back to Paul Rodgers and Bad Company, that pure, unfiltered rock energy. I wanted big guitars, dry vocals, and drums with that worn, retro soul.”~ Seven-time GRAMMY® Award–winning Mixer Michael Brauer

Shot in and around Boulder and mixed by Michael Brauer, whose credits span the Rolling Stones, My Morning Jacket, Coldplay, Aretha Franklin, John Mayer, James Brown, and Ray LaMontagne, “Home” captures the band’s spiritual and sonic DNA.

The record’s dynamic depth comes partly from Brauer’s unmistakable analog warmth. “There is nobody else who mixes like him,” Sachs says. “He does not mix safe. He intentionally pushes things out of balance to convey the emotional truth of the music. He made the quiet moments quieter and the explosions truly explode.” The result is a collection of songs rooted in emotional extremes, vulnerability, and fire.

With hundreds of thousands of streams in the last six months, the band evokes the urgency of The Black Crowes, the atmospheric fire of My Morning Jacket, the grit of Chris Stapleton, and the soulful Americana lyrical threads of Wilco and Ray LaMontagne, while always preserving their distinct brand of rock and roll. Multiple singles have steadily climbed the Mediabase charts across formats, including “Radio Warning” (Oct. 22, 2024), “Simply Avanti” (Mar. 14, 20), “Oslo” (Jun. 13, 2025), and “Leaving Our Lives” (Jul. 11, 2025). Their radio single “Mourning Light” keeps the momentum rolling, while “Birdsong” and its accompanying video–a vivid rock journey from pain to resurgence, filmed in Mexico's surreal sand dunes by acclaimed director VINSINT–dropped on Oct. 31, 2025.

Album standouts include the lead single “Radio Warning,” sparked by Sach’s annual solo treks through the Alaskan backcountry. “Back then you geared up on trust and whatever intel came crackling through the radio,” he says. “No smartphones, no safety net. You depended on your community, and they depended on you.” The trip became a meditation on connection. “There’s no joy in living life alone. What is collaboration? What is love? What is community? I’m still pursuing those answers. And whatever it takes, I’m willing to go.”

Expanding on the band’s signature blend of soulful rock and bare-knuckled storytelling, “Simply Avanti” charges forward with conviction. The track hits with soaring melodies, gritty guitars, and a lived-in honesty that makes every line feel earned. It’s a soulful, straight-from-the-gut testament to perseverance, love, and the bruises and breakthroughs that shape us. Warm, worn-in, and achingly resonant, “Leaving Our Lives” leans into a golden-era rock atmosphere, unfurling like a sun-bled Polaroid with earthy tones and emotional grain, while “Mourning Light” explores themes of grief and devotion, serving as the shadow before the dawn.

“Home,” stands at the center of the album’s emotional terrain, capturing the heart of classic rock and sets it ablaze with modern electricity. Massive guitars, soaring vocals, and a colossal hook turn it into a love letter to the place where we feel most ourselves. Other tracks such as “Oslo,” “Falling Down,” and “Think About It” expand the compilation into atmospheric and vivid territory, with spiritual undertones that Sachs describes as psalms in motion.

As MYND READER nears the release of their full-length debut on January 30, 2026, every note—from introspective moments to anthemic highs—carries weight, heart, and verity. The band will celebrate the release with a live performance at Paradise Found Records & Music in Boulder, Colorado, on release day.