Neon Indian, 'Psychic Chasms'

Release date: October 13, 2009
Record label: Lefse
Official Web site: http://www.myspace.com/neonindian

The buzz: Hyped like mad all over the Internet for months now, Neon Indian finally (it feels like we’ve been waiting forever in, you know, blog-years!) releases this debut LP. The work of one Alan Palomo, Neon Indian is the latest project from that same guy who brought us Ghosthustler and Vega. This effort has been lumped in with the so-called “chillwave” movement.

The verdict: If Ghosthustler’s punked up electro-pop marked Palomo’s most readily dismissible output, and Vega’s synth-y neo-disco his most accessible and uninventive work, Neon Indian stands as the Texas-bred composer-producer’s most challenging yet least rewarding listen. Super ‘80s retro in sound, “Psychic Chasms” hits a low point in the lo-fi electro movement of late. It’s too derivative, both directly from its vintage source material and from the current trend. Full of wobbly synth lines and tiny-speaker beats, the backing tracks bore while the static-sunny vocals sound so removed from resonance—emotional or musical—that it’s easy to wonder if these songs wouldn’t have been better as instrumentals. It's a total mess of half-baked artistic notions and bland trendiness.

Did you know? Palomo’s father, Jorge, was a minor Mexican pop star a few decades ago.