physarum is a unique indie rock project out of boston that’s been putting out music for almost five years now. eldritch shelter is his second release of 2025. this (mostly) anonymous one-man-band specializes in catchy rock nuggets that rarely, if ever, exceed two minutes in length and deliver loads of sweetly sour hooks. pulling from different eras of rock history and presented in demo-esque lofi, physarum’s tunes often seem like blueprints for arena rock epics or 60s pop-rock hits, but are all the better for being rendered in miniature. throughout, physarum’s guitar work is impressively tight, whether delivering chugging riffs or laser-guided leads — this may be lo-fi, but it’s not sloppy.
a typical physarum song is likely to ride a staccato AC/DC-esque riff over a simple drum machine beat (“city of bottles”) or jangly guitars and mellotron (“look for a penny”). at the centerpiece of eldrich shelter is the lovely 50-second ballad “barroom babies,” which employs acoustic guitar arpeggios and twinkly xylophone. despite the short song lengths, every song feels complete with verses and choruses (and no bridges!).
i’d be remiss to not highlight physarum’s lyrics, which often read like short stories or vignettes. the artist often sketches out intriguing sci-fi, horror, and fantasy concepts in his songs, but also is fond of using mundane subjects as jumping off points for flights of fancy. he might sing from the perspective of a worm (opener “my worm ways”) or dedicate a raging 42-second rocker to a neighborhood cat (“romeo whiteboots”). perhaps unsurprisingly, the artist also publishes books of short stories that share the brevity, humor, and body horror with his songs.
what especially makes physarum special for me is the strong, consistent aesthetic that permeates everything from the cover art and album titles, the production and arrangements, and even the release dates. these self-imposed parameters serve as world-building for the strange realm physarum dwells within. it’s a very satisfying place to explore and i recommend diving in and spending some time there.
check out eldritch shelter at physarum’s bandcamp.
