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Nov 11, 2019 Web Exclusive By Ben Jardine

On their fourth LP, Los Angeles’ Allah Las embrace newness, yet still manage to maintain their well-worn essence of cool. Their fourth LP, LAHS, is described by the group as a kind of “audio postcard” that documents the band’s travels over the past few years. The record combines elements of disco, soul, Latin American bossa, and Krautrock—genres that their past releases only skirted around. And yet, underpinning it all, one can still find the band’s obvious ‘60s pop and early psychedelic touchpoints—groups such as The Kinks, The 13th Floor Elevators, George Harrison, and The Zombies have all in the past been used to describe their sound.

The opening suite of tracks (“Holding Pattern,” “Keeping Dry,” and “In the Air”) are reminiscent of earlier Allah Las tracks: shoegazey slow-burns, in the remarkable amalgamation of psych-country-rock, if such a phrase exists. These are certainly “travel” songs: one could imagine hearing “In the Air” on a road trip down US-101, for example, with the sun and sea acting as featured players just as much as the rolling bass and stable drumming.

In fact, all of the tracks are driven by an effortless rhythm section. But it isn’t until the middle group of tracks that LAHS begins to explore new terrain. “Prazer Em Te Conhecer” and “Star” liven up the mix with syncopated signatures, while “Electricity” is paced, controlled, and drenched in reverb.

And it wouldn’t be an Allah Las release without a couple of smooth vocal-less grooves to top things off: “Roco Ono” and “Houston” are laced with a head-nods and refined instrumentals. (www.allah-las.com)

Author rating: 7/10