’60s melancholia for a new age

There are certain sounds that just feel safe, aren’t there? No, not safe meaning boring. The kind of safe that when one turns an album on and can relax for the ride, knowing that they are in good hands. At meeting the welcoming sonic grin of Mystic Braves’ ’60s surf guitar and Hammond organ twinkles, it becomes clear that “Under Control,” the opener to their fourth studio album The Great Unknown, is going to be a tight, succinct piece of retro candy. Furthermore, that The Great Unknown is hopefully going to be chock full of these sweet treats—spoiler alert, it is.

Not content to go stereotypical with their ’60s sound though, Mystic Braves has a certain melancholia weaving through their songwriting. Like the best pop crossings, the lyrical content is much sadder upon a closer listening. “Under Control” has its forlorn waiting for love that may or may not come one day, and “Shades of Grey” has its story of a messy, hot-and-cold breakup that leaves no survivors. The thing that makes Mystic Braves the real deal, though, is not the dichotomy itself; the thing is how darn cool they make being down on your luck sound. Not unlike the slick heroin-fueled drives of Pulp Fiction, The Great Unknown acknowledges life’s sadnesses but is not consumed by them.

The study of the tight retro pop song continues with “Point of View” and “Can’t Have Love,” cementing that these boys know what they’re doing when it comes to crafting hook after hook, and riff after riff. “Can’t Have Love” specifically, delves into spot-on production in the fuzzy lo-fi quality of the vocal and organ production. Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys might have some competition on the horizon.

“Are You Gonna Be There” is where the appetite for that melancholia turns over a little and dips into actual sadness in the vein of that moment of reflection during a party where you remember all of your ongoing problems. It’s a curious little cul-de-sac that is followed immediately by the cheery “Manon of the Spring,” making you almost forget what that depressed sigh felt like. Complicated emotional journey, just like the lyrics of “Shades of Grey” foretold.

What to do about this feeling? Well, listen further and the title song “The Great Unknown” has that answer, and it’s to journey for a new adventure. The message of the song reminding what actual songs of the sixties were about, which is actually going outside, taking a drive and finding your tribe. Like, do people still do that? Not to sound “born in the wrong generation” by any means, but it is downright interesting to hear a story like this—the cowboy with no name who is hungry for adventure to who-knows-where in modern music. Judging by the following songs like “Run Out of Time,” it’s obviously a metaphor for a breakup, but the idea is there. Where have our wanderers in music gone, and will they come back? Mystic Braves is a pointing, solidly, in the right direction.