LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS - “IS THERE LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS” EP REVIEW
Written by Beau Croxton
Life On Other Planets debuts with a fresh EP that is ultra accessible, dreamy, vibey and fun.
Life On Other Planets is a new groovy and synthy dream-pop project from New York singer Fiona Silver and bassist Autry Fulbright (who you may recognize from OFF!). Their new and fun EP lands just in time for summer and features contributions from Mattie Safer (Poolside, The Rapture) on bass, Mark Palgy (VHS, Beta) on synth/guitar/co-production, Alle Futterer (Chappell Roan) on bass, and the notorious Money Mark (Beastie Boys) on keys. The lion’s share of the music was written by Fulbright, while Silver handled the vocals and most lyrics, and the EP was produced by J. Crowe Clarke. The band pulls from a fresh mix of pop, hip-hop and dreamy electronic influences.
A huge swell brings us into the opening track “dreamweaver”, which lands on some beautiful chords that have the tiniest sense of melancholy– they would be right at home on a Tame Impala record. The track is accented by a cute and catchy xylophone part, big quaking 80’s drums, and some lovely synth arpeggios that dance across the chorus. The higher-pitch synths in the outro swell, bringing the track to a very nice peak– it's an alluring open and a highlight.
“H.E.A.V.E.N” is pumped up by busy basslines from Mattie Safer and it carries a very nostalgic 90’s hip-hop breakbeat feel. Honestly, many of these tracks would go absolutely insane at the roller skating rink, I can see the bubble machines and dayglo colors already. This track displays some of the more hip-hop roots that influence the group, as the beat that feels slightly like some Run DMC or Beastie Boys. On “H.E.A.V.E.N.”, Silver does what she does best, driving the track with her smooth crooning vocal-style.
Is There Life On Other Planets EP artwork, out today.
“Deja Vu” Is the biggest highlight for me personally, but every track is delivered cohesively with an even quality, so it's clearly a matter of taste…if you dig one, you will probably dig them all. “Deja Vu” is highlighted by awesome echoey percussion, groovy bass lines from Alle Futterer and very funky keys from Money Mark. Fiona Silver describes “walking on clouds” in the lyrics which is right on the money – listening to this feels like being in some lucid, bubbly, pink, vaporwave-style anime cartoon.
“caught in a feeling” opens with shimmering synths in the background and closes the EP in a very pretty and subtle way. Fiona’s past songwriting is more recognizable in this track, which is a nice touch. It's a pretty and light love song that showcases her subtle Winehouse-like vocal inflections and vibrato in a great way. A swirling synth arpeggio about halfway through really drives home the dreamy vibe one last time.
Simply put, the Life On Other Planets debut EP is very solid, accessible and tons of fun. Here, we have some music vets sounding like they are truly having a blast making dreamy, slightly psychedelic and groovy music. Much to its benefit, it's a pretty straightforward, consistent and accessible affair– sometimes a good time deserves to be extremely easy. This EP carries a lot of wealth in its sonic decisions and delivery; it's just hella vibey with lush vocals, cool synth arpeggios, tasteful synth sounds, nicely considered production and boom-bappin’ drums. This music would fit nicely in a playlist alongside Cults, Magdalena Bay, The Holydrug Couple, Sugar Candy Mountain and lots of other lush, psychedelic and electronic dream-pop. It feels like the sonic equivalent to cooling down with an ice cream cone after a hot day at the beach– This EP should make any summer day sweeter, so definitely add it to your feel-good playlist.
Occult Highlights: Deja Vu and dreamweaver are a real vibe! But we recommend you spin the whole thing while you zone-out on the beach.