Song of the Day: “Mirrors” Weedpecker

Mar 19, 2026

It took five years for Poland’s premier “botanical enthusiasts” to return with their latest dispatch, but V has finally drifted into view. Released in early 2026, the album stands as evidence that Weedpecker has spent their hiatus woodshedding in order to build up their prog chops. While they’ve always been the “thinking man’s” stoner band, V marks a definitive pivot away from the hazy, kaleidoscopic spirals of pure psychedelia toward a more structured, modern prog-rock architecture. It’s as if the band decided that instead of just staring at the stars until they saw shapes, they’d rather build a complex telescope to alert humanity when those stars come crashing down.

The evolution here is striking. On earlier records like II and III, Weedpecker excelled at the “wall of fuzz” approach—layers of shimmering guitars that felt like being wrapped in a warm, vibrating wool blanket. On V, the blanket has been replaced by a tracksuit. The lineup shifts have allowed for a newfound patience in the songwriting; the riffs aren’t just there to knock you over anymore, instead they build in intensity that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Crown Lands or Howling Giant record.

Ultimately, V is the sound of a band growing up and realizing that you can’t stay in the “heavy psych” basement forever without eventually wanting to see what’s in the attic. By embracing a more traditional prog-rock sensibility, Weedpecker has avoided the trap of self-parody that plagues so many of their peers. They’ve swapped the “green dragon” for a more sophisticated beast, one that demands more of the listener but offers a far more panoramic view in return. It’s a dense, rewarding listen that proves you can be “progressive” without losing the “rock” in the process.

While the eleven-minute opener “Fading Whispers” acts as a grand mission statement, it is “Mirrors” that truly steals the show if only with its concise punchiness. It’s the best place to start precisely because it captures the band’s new identity without taking the listener on an all-day excursion. Where other tracks on the record occasionally risk floating off into the ether of “lounge-prog,” “Mirrors” maintains a grounded, propulsive gravity. It balances the band’s legacy of heavy, rhythmic chugging with the record’s new penchant for crystalline textures. It feels like the most honest reflection—pun intended—of where Weedpecker stands today: a band that can still punch you in the gut, but now prefers a more complex combo to keep you on your heels.