New Candys

New Candys are an Italian band from Venezia, Italy, formed in 2008. They play psychedelic rock and related styles, with their listed genres also including electronic, neo-psychedelia, new wave and shoegaze. The group has been active since 2008 and is associated with labels including Fuzz Club, Little Cloud Records, Picture In My Ear and Foolica.

Formation and line-up

The band forms in Venice in 2008 with Fernando Nuti on lead vocals and guitar, Diego Menegaldo on lead guitar and backing vocals, Stefano Bidoggia on bass guitar, and Dario Lucchesi on drums and percussion. The current line-up consists of Fernando Nuti, Andrea Volpato on lead guitar and backing vocals, Alessandro Boschiero on bass, and Dario Lucchesi on drums and percussion.

Diego Menegaldo and Stefano Bidoggia are former members. Volpato joins the band in 2017, and Boschiero joins on bass in 2018.

Releases and recordings

New Candys release their first self-produced EP in 2010 after two years of local live activity around the Venice area. Their debut studio album, Stars Reach The Abyss, comes out in 2012 on Foolica and is later repressed by Fuzz Club in 2017. The album is produced by Pierluigi Ballarin and Stefano Moretti and mastered by Jon Astley.

The song “Meltdown Corp.” appears on The Reverb Conspiracy Vol. 3, a double LP compilation associated with the underground European psych scene and co-released by Fuzz Club and The Reverberation Appreciation Society.

The second album, New Candys As Medicine, is released in 2015 through Picture In My Ear in the United States and Fuzz Club in Europe. It is preceded by a 10-inch split single with Kill Your Boyfriend featuring “Dark Love” and “Surf 2”. The album is mixed by John Wills of Loop and distributed by The Committee To Keep Music Evil. It receives praise from Simone Marie Butler of Primal Scream, Stephen Lawrie of The Telescopes, and Orange Amplification.

The third album, Bleeding Magenta, is released in 2017 by Fuzz Club and later repressed by Little Cloud Records in the United States. It is recorded by Andrea Volpato and produced by the band, and receives critical attention including coverage from Drowned in Sound.

Touring and performances

Following Stars Reach The Abyss, the band tours in England and Italy supporting Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Dead Skeletons and Crystal Stilts. After New Candys As Medicine, they tour Europe multiple times, playing in Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, England, Scotland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain and Croatia.

They appear at Secret Garden Party in 2015, Liverpool International Festival Of Psychedelia in 2016, Barcelona Psych Fest in 2017 and SpaceFest in Poland in 2017. They also support Slowdive, The Vaccines and Savages.

In 2018 they tour Australia, headlining Sydney Psych Fest and Melbourne Psych Fest and performing at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. They also tour the United States and Mexico, including a KEXP live session in Seattle. Later that year they perform at Fuzz Club Eindhoven and support The Brian Jonestown Massacre in Italy.

In 2019 they complete a 50-show run across Europe, the United States and Canada, with appearances including Desert Stars Festival, Milwaukee Psych Fest, The Echo in Los Angeles, Hotel Vegas in Austin and Mercury Lounge in New York. They also tour Europe again, including Levitation France and shows with The Warlocks and The Dandy Warhols. In 2020 they play the Balkans for the first time, with dates in Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Croatia.

Media appearances

Two songs from Bleeding Magenta, and one from an earlier record, are used in three episodes of the Showtime series Shameless.