Dumbo Gets Mad – Thank You Neil

A Well Oiled Machine Headed Straight for Space

Scoot over, Connan Mockasin (or Diane Coffey, Ariel Pink and possibly Air), Italian psyche rock duo Dumbo Gets Mad wants a piece of the curiously queer psyche music scene. After having migrated from Northern Italy to Los Angeles circa 2010, the boy-girl double act Luca and Carlotta recorded Thank You Neil (Bad Panda/Ghost Records) after 2013’s Quantum Leap and Elephants at the Door with only one goal in mind –

To say thank you to Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Thank You Neil is a jumbled mosaic of dream-pop, experimental 70s funk, jazz, psychedelia and much more, a patchwork that’s cohesive even through the parts that feel like a retro infomercial doubling as purgatory. Thank you Neil picks up the brain and neatly nudges it on a ride down rainbow road without ever once seeming aggressive or forced, almost like studying in a library on the moon. With treated vocals that do many a pitch and roll, infused with honeyed range that shines through as not only melodic and creepy, but also haunting and anthropomorphic.

Initial track, “Universal Guide,” serves as the elevator ride, semi-explanatory yet mostly setting the tone for what’s to come. “Youniverse” starts off much like “Baby” from Ariel Pink’s Mature Themes, but takes the listener through a robust, Motown-reminiscent ride that’s thoroughly enjoyable, bolstered by a hearty bass line and crystal clear vocals.

“Orion Chaos” is a shimmery track that slows down to boast a wispy, otherworldly harmony before it descends into madness – tapering off into cavernous echoes and sounds that would only be in place in a mind palace during a panic attack. “Loosing It” begins with a plucky beat that immediately gets a thick layer of harmony spread over it, giving the listener a pleasant minute or so before spiraling into the merriest muffled solo this side of the solar system – unassuming but complex and layered enough to throw one about with dreamy distortion and jaunty fills.

Thank You Neil is an album best served in the dark, through headphones, in bed. Pro tip: listen after watching Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey – one can only hope Neil DeGrasse Tyson would deign to make an immediate cameo in the lucid dreams that are sure to follow.