FAINT WAVES

Australian wunderkind, Margot Lloyd (better known musically as Mooglepuff), makes her extended play debut on Shades Of Sound with lush and evocative new release, After 8.

I’ve been following Mooglepuff since last year, when we both appeared on the Shades Of Summer Volume Two compilation from Shades Of Sound Recordings. As some of you might recall, I had a lot of kind things to say about that compilation, but was specifically quite taken with “Subtropic Vision” by Mooglepuff. The song was an anthemic Dream House number buoyed by shimmering pads, brilliant flutes, and striking piano riffs. I found the track utterly hypnotic, beautifully uplifting and euphoric as it was. After hearing that, I was keen to hear what Mooglepuff would do next. That time has come, and needless to say, Mooglepuff didn’t disappoint.

The EP’s title track sets the stage immediately with a drum break and a classic EMU-II shakuhachi hit. From there, a pad waxes and wanes as a muted trumpet, a distant voice, and a grimy synth bass flirt with one another. The atmosphere here is extremely fitting of its name and the art attached to the extended play as well. “After 8” is as much sultry mood music as it is nightclub scene setter. The track that follows is a remix of the song from label head, Joe Morris, that expands upon and fleshes out the clear and present Dream House influences of “After 8”. Joe’s remix introduces more vocal samples, a propulsive shaker, and more of a swinging shuffle. That isn’t to say he plays it safe; the remix boasts quite a few arrangement changes that allow the track to alternate between ambient and groove-worthy, ultimately ending in true Balearic fashion with bongos and bubbling acid.

The third track puts Mooglepuff front and center once again, with “Entropy & Ecstacy”, a driving dance number that brilliantly threads the needle between cinematic Synthwave and atmospheric House. Nostalgic and yet present, future-forward. The soft, breathy pads. The playful synth plucks. The phasing drum break. If The Neon Demon had been a much more optimistic film, this song would’ve been right at home. This song is made for the catwalk; it is very fashionable music. Dynamic and versatile, this tune evokes images of night drives, shopping sprees, and high fashion.

Aptly named final track, “Nightwalk”, carries the nighttime energy forward, but it’s slightly more somber and introspective, even mystical in its tone. Even so, it too features a groovy and percussive attitude. It begins with a swirling pad and bongos before jumping into danceable hi-hat action. With a struck mallet and a slightly twangy guitar strum (after my own heart with a couple of these musical decisions) filling the evening air betwixt the aforementioned musical cues, this song is among the most unique in the Shades Of Sound catalogue, and certainly a standout on the EP. It’s mysterious, noir dance music that is not to be missed.

After 8 is out now on Bandcamp and everywhere else music is streamed and sold.