Mushy rode darkwave to a slow-burn shoegaze paradise in 1984 (this is the third release I’ve received in the last month or two with ‘1984’ in the title), so there’s no reason to believe they can’t do it now. Let’s find our bearings here: Too minimal and organic to be witch house, too diverse to be directly linked to minimal wave and the other strains, too everything else to be anything else, essentially, but I’m getting flutters of a lot of things. It’s like “Take My Breathe Away” at a Beach House rented by Young Marble Giants, old M83 (remember, they used to be good), White Ring, and maybe… good lord, why am I thinking about Phantogram? There’s a bit of overreach, and I like that; I’d rather Mushy go out swinging than hiding behind reluctant overtures. The flip is extra impressive, tangled in itself and bathed in ever-blossoming ghost beats, skillfully resting kitty-corner from what happened on Side A. You could argue “Crystal Chemistry” (great title) doesn’t go anywhere, and my rejoinder would be, “Yeah, but look where it IS.” Love the finale too, a standoff between its component parts that ends with each side melting and swirling down the drain, only vocals and synths left to finish the tale. I am energized.
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