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thesunlounge · 6 years

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Reviews 153: Mildlife

Though Mildlife and Research Records seemed to emerge out of nowhere at the end of 2017 with The Magnificent Moon single, James Donald, Adam Halliwell, Kevin McDowell, and Tomas Shanahan had actually been working the Melbourne scene for years, steadily refining their cosmic jam outs. Their debut LP Phase arrived fully formed and featured six stunning tracks of pastoral 70’s prog, blazing fusion, and disco-inflected jazz funk. The instrumental prowess of all involved was something to behold and the recording itself exuded a soothing vintage warmth with incredibly crisp production that allowed the analog synths, e-pianos, guitars, bass, and drums plenty of space to sparkle and shine. And though the spellbinding grooves would have made for a fascinating instrumental album all their own, Mildlife pushed things further into realms of classical pop psychedelia with the gorgeous vocal work of Kevin McDowell. Following the release of Phase, the group then invited three exciting remixers to take on select tracks from the album for the Mildlife Remixed 12″. Here, Tornado Wallace offered up some ravey breakbeat dreaminess, Sleep D headed into a world of kaleidoscopic dub, and Mount Liberation Unlimited stretched Phase closer “The Gloves Don’t Bite” into a romantic disco journey of pure transcendence. And most recently, Mildlife released the Phase II 7”, which saw the group reworking and rerecording the title track from their debut LP into a storming psych riff monster, complete with thrilling passages of improvisation reflecting the song’s evolution during the band’s 2017 live performances.

Mildlife - Phase (Research Records, 2018) Phase opens with “The Magnificent Moon” and its introduction of kosmische sequences, synthetic wind, and brass pads. The main groove is led by a jaw-dropping bass guitar performance from Tomas Shanahan and the drums lock into an effervescent glide while synths soar and swirling noise clouds obscure funk guitar riffs. Berlin school sequences accompany colorful vocals that bring a swooning romance and these prog-pop passages alternate with dueling synth and guitar fireworks. Sometimes the filters open up on the synths, causing them to explode like fireworks in a starry sky and after a jazzy anticlimax with sunshine six-string journeys working in contrast to the preceding bombosity, anthemic pitch bending synth solos rain down as everything comes together for a spectacular climax. “Zwango Zop” follows with an air of exotic disco perfection as a tropical four-four is danced around by congas and slithering basslines. There are sections dominated by beautifully multi-tracked and hazily filtered vocals evoking the heyday of Abbey Road and we also get a freaked out solo section where fried synth leads explode into dueling fuzz brilliance. The track is awash in Latin prog virtuosity and the harmonizing fuzz solos keep ascending to impossible heights as the bass and drums stomp underneath with an almost evil sense of groove. And after breaking down into drifting deep space liquids, we smash back into the jam and its prog funk balladry, burning passages of swelling synth vapor, blasting tom fills, and climax of double-tracked wah-wah guitars bursting like solar flares.

“Im Blau” has slow and low Magmoid basslines underlying double-tracked guitar mirages. Shakers and güiro accent the muscular prog drums while lovesick vocoders are surrounded by cinematic orchestrations and smooth arps and there are unsettling transitions that interrupt the mix, with the rhythms being replaced by searing industrial noises. Elsewhere, cyborgs sing over breathy flutes while the bass and drums hold down a subdued groove and then, storm siren synths lead back into the lanky funk flow, with horror film leads and organ drones evoking the soundtrack work of Goblin. As we head towards the end, blues guitar exotics are bathed in aquatic vibrato alongside phasing synths pulsating like the breath of some cosmic being. It’s pure sonic radiance and after the lovelorn robots return to pull at the heartstrings, it all fades into a colorful interstellar gas. Psych rock riffs and wobbling bass textures anchor the intro of “Phase” until a stoned jam develops, with slow motion basslines and barely there drums pulsing like Miles’ “He Loved Him Madly.” Fusion leads and oscillating noise spirals grow ever more freaked out and dazzling jazz guitar cascades gently ascend towards a majestic climax, with solar vibrations ringing out from the peak of a magical mountain…the guitars and synths locked into breathtaking harmonies, the bass snaking around with melodic funk solos, and blankets of feedback working their way into the layers of ecstatic prog ritualism. And as the jam winds down, morphing alien sonics fly around the deconstruction of a classical stretch of guitar psychedelia.

We awaken in a Tangerine Dream wonderland for “Two Horizons,” as Berlin school sequences swim through a cosmic sea. Winds of static overlay bubbling bass currents until mellotron saxophones transition us into some transportive prog-psychedelia led by swinging drum hypnotics and moaning, almost desperate synthesizer drones. The bass guitar work is as jaw-dropping as ever and the blissed out vocal harmonies remind me of Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion,” as if backed by masterful cosmic fusion. Acid textures follow the drums and bass with a sense of pure joy while distorted Rhodes melodies evoke fantasy forests in the clouds, only as seen through LSD electronics distorting the view with neon tracers and rainbow emanations. Closer “The Gloves Don’t Bite” initiates with minimal percussion drifting aside enchanting synth leads. We then segue into riffing disco narcotics as bass guitar power chords dance with six-string blues leads. Video game electronics fly around while hazy vocals glide above the pure jam mastery, followed in round by smooth guitar magic flowing towards a sunset horizon. Galactic layers of synthesis wash over instrumental choruses and thrilling fills and dancey double-time cymbals work their way into the vibrant drumming. Freaky solo passages see synths and guitars seeking out an alien sun and then the track heads towards a seaside fusion paradise, as wah wah guitars mix with overdriven psych-funk riffs and wondrous bass guitar leads move up and down the fretboard exuding vibrations of beachside romance.

Mildlife - Mildlife Remixed (Research Records, 2018) For Tornado Wallace’s take on “The Magnificent Moon,” we smash cut into jammed out breakbeat hypnotics…the gliding kick and snare magic colored by jangling tambourines and throbbing bass cushions that push so much air. The beats ride for an extended introduction as wisps of synth wind blow and hints of the original version’s flowing kosmische sequences waver through the mix. Everything moves with a sort of dream logic and the entrancing vocals of Kevin McDowell are here completely modified, with the lyrics remaining the same but now spoken by feminine androids. The ascendent synth solos of the original track are removed from their cosmic fusion context and are turned into ravey melodies stoking hands in the air euphoria. And during a midtro of cruising kick-less breaks, plucked guitars scatter and hallucinatory cosmic pads soar in the background until we flash into an expanse of crushing rhythmic sorcery with nothing but the loved up breakbeats and machine woman voices evoking ecstasy soaked 90′s nostalgia. The back half of the track is given over completely to city leveling wobble basslines that ooze over the mix like cosmic molasses while housey dream pianos bang away softly. Eventually the drums are chopped up and sent through low pass filters while repeating pads glow with hues of dark and deep blue until it all fades into silence.

Sleep D loop congas and other unidentifiable percussive tones while resonant bass drums knock against the fabric of the universe. Their remix of “Im Blau” sees dense layers of deep space synthesis introduce a marauding bassline that tears through the cosmos alongside haunted voices. Organs bubble and broil with sun-soaked key changes and once the beat reaches full strength, we find ourselves in a world of propulsive dub perfection. Everything is smothered in delay fx...a barely contained chaos that Sleep D occasionally obliterate by letting various instruments self oscillate into a cloud of psychedelic madness. So much energy pulses through the mix as we head on a mystical odyssey into the shadowy corners of the universe, with Adam Halliwell’s flutes transmuted into a jungle ceremony accompanied by wild layers of resonant feedback. Horrifying noise streaks, rattling drones, and crazed sirens are filtered beyond recognition but eventually the disorienting layers back off, giving way to a minimal expanse of ambient spectral magic, wherein riffing space guitars sit under oceanic fx and swim above thudding kicks and breathing industrial sound layers. Everything appears refracted through kaleidoscopic tape delay rainbows and as the drums build back, the vibe is even more soaring and immersive than before. The enchanting psychedelic sorcery has a way of pulling you deep within its spell...filtering echo guitars morphing into black smoke, ever present and incredibly layered hand percussion panoramas subsuming all thought, the body and soul merging totally with exotic dub esoterica.

Cut-up disco rhythms and low slung bass guitars invite you to Mount Liberation Unlimited’s dancefloor paradise re-edit of “The Gloves Don’t Bite, wherein flowing pads support space guitar theatrics...like classic blues leads orbiting a distant star. The vocals are deliriously double tracked and move with sexual energy over the greasy bass guitar movements and there are detours into deep instrumental jam territory as amorphous synth clouds whirl around the disco heat. After a head spinning pause, the chorus hits, backed by blustery brass and orgasmic builds leading into soulful synth chord expanses. Then the track blasts into gorgeous Santana guitar solos, all bluesy fusion riding on a shooting star. Sometimes the guitar pyrotechnics are joined by harmonizing synths, resulting in blazing passages of interstellar boogie and at other times, it all breaks down into a dreamland orgy of Michael Shrieve tom fills flashing ear-to-ear above the grooving bass liquids, searing organs, and solar tremolo heat. The whole jam continues to grow more and more spaced out as the organs are replaced by brain-piercing neon feedback rays and the vocals re-enter briefly but are soon subsumed by radiant disco ascendency and the constant presence of funked out brass riffs. There are too many layers of freaked out cosmic electronics to even describe and the maximalism gives way to a vocal heavy ending replete with bass guitar incantations, tropical organ adventures, hazy synth liquids, and Mount Liberation Orchestra’s own syrupy sweet vocal harmonies intermingling with Kevin’s golden pipes.

Mildlife - Phase II (Research Records, 2018) In the first part of “Phase II,” keyboards swim in a black hole ocean alongside wiggling cosmic leads and expressive flute trills. Ceremonial drum crashes and martial fills usher us into a fantasy world of progressive rock beauty, until swinging 60s power trio drum and bass magic enters to drive me wild, like doing the swim or the batusi on the surface of the sun. It’s a superb psychedelic groove out with clicking spring reverb fx leading into the original “Phase” riff, here repurposed into some heady outerspace blues. The skipping drum flow and vibed out guitar hooks almost reach hues of stoner surf rock, the jangling and loose six-strings played so confidently, all sliding chords and hot riffs coalescing with ping ponging bass guitars and drums swinging towards the stratosphere. The soaring synths from the original cut, which there flew over a funereal plod, are here transformed into sunshine krautrock magic that eventually fades out on squiggling synths, melodic bass guitar abstractions, and foggy pads.

The second part swirls with submarine pings, ritualistic bells, and the same synth fog that concluded the first part. Cymbals gleam as fluid bass drones and washed out guitars are subsumed within gentle feedback oscillations while tick-tock space metronomes sit under time morphing echoes that cause the sounds to move in and out of phase. Shimmering and wondrous cymbal flutters pan back and forth and there is a sense that we are building towards something, but it takes its time until finally, a low down stoner funk beat emerges with the most overt and thrilling flute fireworks yet in the Mildlife catalog. Adam Halliwell really shines here, with beautiful runs and woodwind spells conversing with heavenly birds above Jannick Top bass guitars thumping away under watery phase fx. Wavering guitar riffs lie under dense blankets of spring reverb and 16th note cymbals flash ear-to-ear...hard to tell if electronic or acoustic, but supremely delirious all the same. The spiritual flutes continue to dance and dash through the mix with exotic vibrato movements and sultry noir atmospheres and for a beatless stretch, sumptuous cosmic synths wash through the soul. And just when you think it might all fade away, Mildlife slam once more into the narcotic 60’s space age bachelor pad psychedelia.

(images from my personal copies)

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