Mungolian Jet Set – Mungodelics

Jet Set Psychedelia

If you ever thought to yourself, “I like Sigur Ros, but the music just isn’t weird enough for me,” then prepare to fall in love with Mungolian Jet Set. The Norwegian DJ duo utilizes a world of samples layered with live instruments to make electronic dance beats that sound like they were crafted in another galaxy and imported by a UFO. Their fourth studio release, Mungodelics, gives advent to eight delicious new tracks of scrumptious strangeness, all bursting lengthy, and often with aimlessly meandering runtimes.

Opening with the whimsically instrumental “Jaga Jazzist vs. Knights Of Jumungus – Toccata,” Mungodelics starts with futuristic rhythm keys, rough tribal drums, and arbitrary echoing chimes making for a relaxed melody with subtly building tension. Collaborating with the likes of Unni Wilhelmsen on a track called “Revolving Door,” the compliment between uptempo analog synths and harmonic acoustic guitar provides a surreal atmosphere alongside lush spring landscape imagery. Other collaborative efforts on the album include “Mung’s Picazzo” with Athana, another downtempo scenery-infused track showcasing a variety of instrument samples. That’s not to say that their solo endeavors aren’t half bad either; the song “People on Strong Stuff” is interesting to least the least, beginning with a wailing psychedelic guitar riff and plateauing with rough and a-melodic chanting vocals. The album spirals all over the EDM spectrum, from house to IDM beats and beyond, often multiple times within the same song, detracting from its overall consistency and quality.

A contemporary electronic band reminiscent of the old school psychedelic rock masters, Mungolian Jet Set has carved out a reputation amongst hardcore fans as producers who are incapable of creating something stagnant. For the casual listener, they might come off as repetitive garbage only listenable for people on drugs. Either way, the discerning music appreciator of Norwegian EDM is bound to find nuggets of significance thinly veiled throughout Mungodelics.