Bubblegum Cistern – SYZYGY
Knoxville, Tennessee’s Bubblegum Cistern, a duo made up of Eddie Stephenson and John Seeber, recently released SYZYGY, a wonderfully rhythmic, space-influenced record that is bound to pique your interest. Whether it’s demonic vocoders joining a frenzy of vocals, or the extremely impressive percussion heard all throughout the album, SYZYGY lands successfully among the sun, moon, and stars.
“Low Gravity,” song one, blasts off with some sort of alien chime that disintegrates into static. The bass is huge, and the instrumentals are jazzy with a bowel-shaking groove. As noted previously, the drummer is going crazy. Surprise: there’s double bass in this astral bop! The track also features splendid vocal runs. Later on in the song, the frontman victoriously takes a ballsy risk by singing alone.
Traversing across the album leads us to “Back to Phoenix,” which stands out with its wistful happiness. There is big, thumping acoustic guitar and the warm buzz of electronic bass. The character in this story is nostalgic about how things used to be, fondly remembering the good old days regarding a relationship. Eventually, the protagonist states he wishes someone would stay with him when he sings, “Let me press down on your wings / And stop you flying back to Phoenix.”
Toward the end of this 9-song LP is “Re/Entry.” Robotic ooos lock in any stray attention, and the percussion and main vocals serve as the shiny objects attracting the limelight. The middle tones serve as the backbone of the mix. “Been fucking scared of the daylight / Maybe we can still come alive in the moonlight,” is professed during a giant breakdown. Ultimately, the tune dies down into just ukulele and somber singing.
Bubblegum Cistern’s SYZYGY is a super interesting, refreshing listen FFO Young the Giant, Ra Ra Riot, and Atlas Genius. While SYZYGY has an extraterrestrial vibe, the listener is rooted by its sobering, relatable lyricism, exceptional rhythm section, and clever use of thought-provoking sounds. There’s lots more here to enjoy, so escape into orbit by listening to the new release on Spotify and Apple Music.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Jake Sessanna