Foster the People vets Sean Cimino and Isom Innis feature syrupy, acid-rock inspired cuts all over their debut album, Acid Star. The duo, named Peel, are in a well-formed, musically-advanced point in their careers. This is a clear break away from their previous work in Foster the People, as Cimino and Innis embrace dance music, psychedelia, and dream pop on Acid Star.
Acid Star is consumed in an acid-rock exterior. Throughout the album, heavy synths and dreamy vocals coat the palette. Within this exterior, Peel are able to explore dance and electronics and goth rock to make Acid Star perfectly eclectic and balanced.
The title track features some of the most stripped back yet harrowing instrumentals on the entire album. The swirling and strummed acoustic guitars are hypnotic and pleasant on the ears, and singer Sean Cimino croons over it all with dreamy high notes and Thom Yorke inspired vocal passages. We don’t get this sound from Peel again until the gorgeous closing track “The Cloak,” which is even more melodic and elevated than the former.
However, the rest of the tracklist contains heavy doses of electronic music and dance music. “In the Sedentary” is the best example of this — with its droning electronic bass and synth passages. Even “Mall Goth” with its moody bassline and vocals, is incredibly catchy and entertaining.
Peel maintains a level of cohesiveness that is hard to come by. Not to mention, the album is spectacularly produced. The aforementioned “The Cloak” features guitars in the background that are so subtly mixed in, adding an essential component to the track. The synths on dance cut “Y2J” and dream pop cut “Cycle” are perfectly mixed to bring a punch but not take over the whole track. Ultimately, it’s Peel’s ability to blend genres and consistently bring exciting, experimental ideas track after track.
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