Tropics
Parodia Flare
Planet Mu
Rating: 4 out of 5

Link: http://www.planet.mu/artists/tropics

Set your mind to chill and prepare for some musical purity because Tropics is the full spa package. Music to massage your senses, there is a cool calm to his music. You want to wrap your arms around this album and give it a big hug not just out of gratitude for such a lovely album, but to soak up its warmth. It is amazing that someone in his early 20s can create an album so deep. But this is what British producer and multi-instrumentalist Chris Ward has done.

“Mouves” hums with strange dissonance, like peering into the mystery of ocean waves and wondering what lies beyond. For us, we know it’s the shimmering elegance of the title track and how guitar notes collide with swirling sampling to create the mirage of decadence.

Everything on this album is not cocktails and yacht rides, they spin an interesting blend of sincere soul with just enough psych and shoegaze to distort your perception. The gentle breakbeat pounding in the back of “Going Back” keeps the song swaying. This is how Tropics breaks free from the traditional elements and escapes entrapment.

One thing for sure is that their downtempo is most exquisite. You feel like you are in a dreamscape, and if you are not, then a song like “Figures” will put you into the trance. Turn down the lights, turn off the world, and let Tropics take you to utopia.

Mark it on your calender, the album is released September 20.