For those left disappointed by MGMT’s second offering earlier this year, Neon Indian’s debut Psychic Chasms may just be the substitute you should actually have been anticipating all along. A one-man band in the form of Texan Alan Palomo, he creates his sound entirely on Ableton Live (for those not aware, this is a music sequencing computer program), yet his music is far from overly produced or one-dimensional. Instead what is presented to us is a series of soft, dreamlike, electro-pop tracks that guide us into a blissfully quixotic state without the use of any of the substances he occasionally sings about.
Describing his sound as falling under the ‘chillwave’ genre, when you listen to his music this seems like somewhat of an understatement as floaty, chilled-out streams of smooth beats wash over us from the very beginning. Palomo has previously stated that bands such as Depeche Mode and New Order have been big influences for him, and elements of these acts along with more recent electronica artists such as Daft Punk and Air are prominent throughout. Single 'Deadbeat Summer’ could easily act as your soundtrack to said season, with it’s punchy electro-pop kicks and distorted looping beats, whilst ‘Laughing Gas’ has a childlike essence to it that makes it impossible to resist. The morphed guitars of ‘Terminally Chill’ lead befittingly into ‘(If I Knew I’d Tell You)’ which is a sterling example of flawlessly abstruse 80s synth, yet all the while the calm, whispery, echoed vocals keep us rooted in the mystical.
The tracks flow into each other with impressively superior ease and precision, and the combination of soft, illusory harmonies and stronger, pulsating beats means that you won’t have to pigeon hole the record into your collection until a specific mood or event comes around. If you’re going to sit up and take note to one new electronica artist this year, do yourself a favour and make sure it’s Neon Indian.
This review was originally published on www.culturedeluxe.com
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