Rich, dream-like, eccentric, eclectic, surreally humorous psychedelic prog-pop amid a huge range of influences in this splendidly strange fifth album by the Connecticut multi-instrumentalist-vocal duo of Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. Expect the unexpected then, with opener Loss of Life (Part 2) featuring the reading of a Welsh poem, Mother Nature with strong echoes of classic mid-90s Oasis (and therefore some Beatles …); Christine and The Queens as guest on Dancing In Babylon which opens with drones and crackles before morphing into piano and big-drum 80s pop; the wonderfully bizarre, surreal non sequitur lyrics of Bubblegum Dog (“Tenement homes built upon a fault line / Juvenile quetzal birds living in the coal mine / Manicured lawns/ Tibetan straw men /Igneous basketballs drifting through the heavens”) moving into a Ziggy-Bowie-esque rock solo with added harpsichord, but going even more psychedelic into Flaming Lips territory; echoes of the sweet summer folk-pop sounds of Paul Simon on Nothing To Declare; and with other diversions on this journey, moving inexorably to a beautifully fragile, epic final title track, crumbling towards a final, heavenly death: “At the table, undressing cosmic knots / What remains of disconnected dots … When the morning comes and life is over / Anyone can love, anyone can love.” Like enjoying long hot bath or a dream state of flowing subonscious - immersive, luxuriant, and while full of influences, free-floatingly inventive. Out on Mom + Pop Records.
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