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Feb 05, 2014 Web Exclusive By Lily Moayeri

Painted Palms got the psychedelic experimentation out of its system—for the most part—on its Canopy EP. On the eagerly awaited debut full-length, Forever, the duo taps heavily into pop music, that of half a century ago. There is still a generous dose (no pun intended) of hallucinogenic textures on Forever, as well as beat exploration, but that’s cushioned in a bubbly, breezy, synth-laden pop blanket.

Forever‘s opener, “Too High,” sounds like it is playing backwards—and that feels just right. Patches of “Hypnotic” and the entire title track could fit easily on The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. In fact, the whole album would serve as an excellent companion piece for The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. While the sounds may be classic, the production on Forever is very current and really starts showing its multi-tracks in the middle chunk of the album. “Spinning Sounds” is all swirling synths and jittery upbeat melodies. “Soft Hammer” is nothing but syncopated lo-fi organ sounds and “Carousel” goes around and around with the barest of humming vocals. As it closes out, Forever starts looking in the rearview mirror again with the mono tones of “Empty Gun.”

It could be said that Forever might benefit from fewer layers of production, but its maze of sounds is part of its charm and what keeps it interesting. (www.paintedpalms.net)

Author rating: 7/10