Black Moth Super Rainbow - 2007 - Dandelion Gum

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.75 out of 5

I've been digging this one on a pretty regular basis for the past three-and-a-half years. This very psychedelic synth loaded band hails from Pennsylvania and can rightfully lay claim to one of the trippiest pop albums of the past decade. There's plenty of novelty on this record with all of the vocals being run through a vocoder and plenty of goofy analog synths sounds often competing with mellotrons (or a good approximation of one). Still, the band steps up to the plate with some great songwriting and top rate psychedelic atmospherics.

This is an album that washes over you entirely, and there's not a bum track among the bunch. Even some of the experimental tracks rise above the 'filler' status as they do a fine job of transporting the listener through the album. I will give you a few starting points, though, to get you hooked. "Jump Into My Mouth and Breathe the Stardust" comes across as Beck on quaaludes with it's crusty acoustic guitar riff occasionally becoming overpowered by huge washes of mellotron, synth, and strange sound effects. "Lollipopsichord" seems to physically twist your mind with its reality bending synth riff. Actually, I think this would have been a fantastic album opener. The band does a fine job of building off of French electronica bands like Air and Mellow - "When the Sun Grows on Your Tongue" definitely would have fit well on one of Mellow's albums as a standout track.

This is an album that begs for plenty of repeat listening. Although many of the influences are clear, Black Moth Super Rainbow certainly appropriates them into a very groovy sound trip. If you have the opportunity, I'd recommend picking this up on vinyl. The trippy cover art is also bubblegum scented and the discs themselves of printed on strange bubblegum coloured vinyl.

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Black Moth Super Rainbow - 2007 - Dandelion Gum