CD Review: Neon Indian

Track layering adds depth to electronic LP

By Lauren Fleury

Posted on Feb. 15, 2010, at 2:42 a.m.

If you’re looking for an album that makes you want to get out of your chair and flail your limbs in the air, Neon Indian’s debut LP “Psychic Chasms” is it. Austin, Texas, composer Alan Palomo does an incredible job presenting various music components. By utilizing sounds from various eras and combining them with different layering techniques and musical approaches, the album is a bit of a brain massage the first time through. As the sounds created by Palomo are incredibly versatile, this psychedelic music experience has been tossed under many different genres — namely electronic, psychedelic and synth-pop.

The album is laced with a classic ’80s essence, and the layering of multiple tracks adds to the depth and interest of the album. If you are a lover of electronic music from the past decade, “Psychic Chasms” is an album that will be kept active in your library. To put it into words other electric fans would understand, this album sounds like a collaboration of various artists forming one big happy family. If Daft Punk, M83 and Crystal Castles came together and had a baby, “Psychic Chasms” would be their beautiful psychedelic child.

There are also traces of the Boards of Canada within the album, especially in the track “Laughing Gas,” where the faint noises of children laughing can be heard beneath the heavy layers of synth. The first song on the album, “AM,” is a mere 25 seconds and offers just a taste of the direction the album takes. The second track, “Deadbeat Summer,” induces swaying of the body with its MGMT-esque vocal sound and funky guitar riffs layered with bubbly electro elements that seep smoothly into your ears. My favorite song on the album is epitomized by its title: “Terminally Chill.” The layering of various tracks makes for an intense sound yet again.

If you have any appreciation for music of the electronic sort, this is an album that needs to be given a chance. “Psychic Chasms” incorporates elements from various artists, eras and genres in a completely unique and innovative manner. Although bands like Passion Pit can make the ’80s sound a bit cheesy at times, Neon Indian makes the sound completely enjoyable and artistic. The only negative feeling I derived from listening to this album was resentment at being confined in my dorm room, instead of frolicking in a field of flowers on a warm, sunny day.

Grade: A

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