The sounds conjured up by the duo of
Astral Brain on their debut album,
The Bewildered Mind, won't be unfamiliar to anyone with a working knowledge of
Broadcast or
Stereolab, or anyone who is familiar with more recently minted artists like
Vanishing Twin. Groups who coalesce bewitchingly around the meeting point of indie pop, psychedelia, space age EZ listening, and electronica to present a sound that's at once warmly familiar and coolly futuristic. Two other groups who traveled a similar path were
Le Futur Pompiste and
Testbild!; it comes as no surprise that the person responsible for the music here -- Einar Ekström -- was the driving force behind the former and that vocalist Siri af Burén was a member of the latter. Ekström displays deep knowledge with the form throughout the album, lightly sprinkling the songs with vintage keys, electronic bleeps, chiming guitars, and pulsing rhythms while leaving plenty of room for af Burén's sweet vocals and lovely harmonies. It makes for very easy, very comforting listening that's just right for times when it seems just the thing to float away on a cloud of wistful melodies and pillowy sound. There are no sharp edges on the album, no jarring interludes or daring twists to digest. Especially if one desires a hint of melancholy in the mix, as songs like "Behind Our House" or "Goodbye" do have a trickling undercurrent of nostalgia-fed sadness even as they bounce along happily. Af Burén's vocals are just a little bit wistful, the vibraphones and harpsichords a little weepy, and the melodies a little bit blue. It's a winning approach that
Astral Brain follow throughout the album, one that puts them directly in line with their predecessors. If the music was all too giddy or the vocals too sunny, it might sound like a silly pastiche. Instead, the songs on
The Bewildered Mind are deep enough to cause some impact, the sound is note-perfect, and the duo bring enough of their own style to the proceedings to help put a distinctive spin on the template. This comes through most of all on the songs that dispense with the driving rhythms and settle back into more moody, psychedelic territory, like "In the Mayweed Fields" or "The Field Trip." The latter song even indulges in a little bit of pastoral folkiness, which is an avenue the band might want to consider exploring more since it provides the album with one of its strongest and most memorable tunes. The final song, "Windmills" is another winner in this vein, sounding like
the Free Design at the bottom of a well deep in the countryside and featuring nice vocal interplay between Ekström and af Burén. It's a fine ending to a wonderful album.
Astral Brain have arrived fully formed, and if anyone wants to crown them the leaders of the new school of space age psychedelic pop, they won't get much argument here. ~ Tim Sendra