Busted horns call from over the dunes, beckoning listeners to the weirdest beach party ever on the opening song, “Sell Art,” on KLMNOPQ. Looping patterns echo from left to right, abbetted by thick bass syrup. Every second, as the digital shimmer grows, I’m waiting for a beat that never comes. Klara Lewis and Peder Mannerfelt’s collaborative effort is more interested in the spectacle.
Stomping rhythms do peek around the corner on “My Clementine is Making Paella Tonight,” electronic detritus splayed across it like the guts of the morning’s catch. Seaside at midnight creeps from shadows created by a distant lighthouse on “You Need to Be Kind,” a nostalgic wish to cleanse the year’s horrid grime. Synths simultaneously growl and glisten, distorted oscillations trying to snuff out the crystalline pads. Lewis and Mannerfelt show impeccable control, only letting the sonic waves crash across the plane at the exact right moment.
KLMNOPQ is a short and saccharine romp ingrained with a childlike wonder that’s getting dusted by the world’s phantoms. Closer “Full of Piss and Vinegar” maxes out the late-night carnival rides, twisting familiar blurred mariachi-infused passages into piles of neon detritus, as a cryptic voice looms like a real-life specter inside this haunted house. It’s a strange trip indeed.
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