Brothertiger – Out of Touch

Pop Dreamscapes Laden with Synths

John Jagos, better known by his chill-wave moniker, Brothertiger, has come a long way since he began recording electronic music in his Ohio bedroom in 2006. However, back then he went by a different name, Monoteque. Since his evolution into Brothertiger, he released three EP’s before releasing his debut full-length album Golden Years (2012), which established his entrancing, dream-like sound rooted in synths and straightforward drum tracks. Now a resident of Brooklyn, NY, Brothertiger has spent the last four years asserting himself as a major name in indie synth-pop. He has been making waves with his translucent and eclectic style, which fits in with bands such as Washed Out and Animal Collective. Currently, Brothertiger is touring with JRJR across the States and released his third studio album Out of Touch, December 8, 2015.

Out of Touch opens with “Beyond the Infinite,” a promising track that seems to emulate the gleam of 80s pop in a contemporary fashion. The song is warm and catchy, something that would find itself being played among friends in the car on a breezy summers day. Jagos engrains the lyrics “Let go of your lying eyes” in the listeners mind. Tracks such as “Wake” and the title track “Out of Touch” grasp at the same feeling of carefree dream-pop, while songs like “Fall Apart” display Jagos’ own spectrum of emotion with lyrics “I know these things will fall apart / Been brewing from the very start”. In an interview with Culture Collide, Jagos discussed how he infuses emotion into his electronic music, and explained that the emotion usually “stems from finding the right sound,” a notion that can be heard on this album.

Brothertiger’s soundscapes create palpable textures that one can get lost in. Some tracks on the album tend to become deluged with the inundation of synths, yet it is considered synth-pop for a reason.