Panic Blooms Pink Ed

Six years, one limited mini-album of outtakes, and three Tobacco solo records on from 2012's Cobra Juicy, Black Moth Super Rainbow returned with their long-awaited seventh album, Panic Blooms. While the group's previous few full-lengths found them increasingly sharpening the fidelity of their neon-hued, cracked-prism psych-pop, Panic Blooms is one of their sludgiest-sounding albums in years, applying the filthy tape smudge of Tobacco's solo work to BMSR's songwriting approach. His vocals are still masked by vocoders, but the lyrics are more direct and introspective than they've ever been. Songs like "Panic Blooms" and "Bad Fuckin Times" seem like reactions to the sociopolitical climate, but without addressing specific issues. The songs artfully express fear, alienation, and disenchantment with vivid, sinister imagery ("Razorblade in a tangerine") coexisting with more forthright yearnings of acceptance and happiness ("Should get a little more sunshine/Should keep a little less haze around me"). Sonically, BMSR have made brighter, more accessible records in the past, but they've never nailed the sweet-and-sour flavor as much as they do here. Every track is doused in tape decay, making it rough on the ears, but the charred melodies are so rich and sweet that it all ends up sounding eerily relaxing. Songs like "New Breeze" recall the most nausea-inducing moments of Loveless, with slippery glissandos doused in so many effects that they seem three-dimensional. The beats are mainly slowed to a disorienting crawl, but they perk up on occasion, such as "Aerosol Weather" and "Mr No One." Anxiety-stricken yet somehow finding ways to enjoy life, BMSR sound creatively re-energized on the excellent Panic Blooms. ~ Paul Simpson