Monday, November 2, 2009
Review - Neon Indian: Psychic Chasms
Posted on 9:15 PM by Clumpy
Rating: 8.5Making relevant electronic music can be a difficult task. While it's nearly impossible to escape the genre's popular perception of accessible, simple rhythms and repetition, give your listeners too many party anthems and the strength of your singles starts to wear a little thin (sorry, Justice). Indie musicians, on the other hand, have the luxury of an audience raised on sonic texture and a little weirdness. Four Tet made a career out of sidestepping standard electronica for more tuneful, ambient fare, and The Knife's darker departures were accepted by critics and listeners alike despite (maybe even because of) their odd mixing choices and hyperparanoia.
Neon Indian pick a heavier, hazy sound for their debut, a heavily funk and psychedelia-oriented affair incorporating nauseated synths and guitar which distort perfectly, lackadaisical vocals and sudden, comfortable shifts in melody to joyful effect. The first time you hear some of these tracks they may floor you, though successive listens continue to yield addictive treasure and inescapable head-bobbing, even in nearly bobbed-out heads such as mine.
The funk elements are there in droves - percussive, defining bass lines drive every track - though the colder, more ethereal instrumentation makes this a perfect seasonal release for the upcoming cold. This is a giddy, disciplined and taut record which deserves to be played loud and often, rigorously-produced and involving.
What's doubly refreshing for a record such as this one is how blasted consistent it is - the group keeps track times low, occasionally trying out neat experiments in miniature songs and not subjecting listeners to filler. Songs traverse one dopamine-releasing segment after another, such as the brilliant "Mind, Drips," whose chorus hinges on a very subtle vocal background melody which fulfills its role perfectly. This is music which almost seems as if it couldn't have been created until it was already fully formed; as crucial and interdependent as each element is, changing something would seemingly require a retool of the entire track, yet the album never seems frail or collapses under its own weight.
The title track is perhaps the most striking sonic moment on the album - a very straightforward, hard-hitting beat juxtaposed with floaty vocals and almost unsure synth blasts. The track is pure sex and easily the centerpiece of the album. Psychic Chasms is a half-hour of aural bliss which never overstays its welcome or leaves you feeling sick to your stomach.
---Dustin Steinacker
[mp3] Neon Indian - "Psychic Chasms"
