The Utopia Strong + McCartney Gap

The life of a psychonaut can take one to many plateaus of reality. Opinions vary as regards which of these are either desirable or optimal. All things considered, it’s fair to say that once the average cerebral wanderer finds themselves a stoned skeleton on a motorbike, it’s a sign that they’re going places.

Such were the movements of The Utopia Strong in making their third and psychedelic full-length album for Rocket Recordings. As the band explain: “When recording we tend to have books, bits of art and interesting things lying around the place. (Kavus) had recently bought the Paul Kirchner compendium, Awaiting The Collapse. Paul’s character Dope Rider (the skeleton in question) drives around the desert, getting into all manner of high jinks and spouting cosmic philosophy, highlighting the absurdities of life, death and the American mythos. When we had created that particular track, a beautiful and outré track, it seemed to name itself. Certainly, we were looking at the comic strips while listening to it and something about its widescreen vibes and the beautiful desert seemed to marry together.”

Serendipity has always played a strong role in The Utopia Strong, with the improvisatory approach of Steve Davis, Kavus Torabi and Mike York, as well as the innate chemistry between the trio, allowing them to take extensions through dimensions that frequently end up as much of a surprise to the band as to the listener. The Utopia Strong + McCartney Gap will perform at The Piper on 24 May 2026 at 6:00 pm.