Droolip - ig is (Butter Records) [Alt-Pop]

Droolip is keeping his head down publicly and musically. Better known as Brandon Nguyen to his family and friends, he's a bass player from Hawaii now residing in Brooklyn, and, well that's all I know really, apart from the fact that he's released five dreamy pop singles of varying lysergic intensity since 2021.

His latest release "ig is" is a curious, catchy affair. Nguyen gets the ball rolling with his open to interpretation lyrics and easy going vocals - a lone voice of soundscape reason, ushered through the speakers by some slightly off kilter hip hop beats which don't take long to become seriously off kilter, as the meds kick in/wear off (delete as applicable) and playful sonic mayhem ensues.

A simple, sunny guitar motif gets the track tingling before loops tighten and repeat then expand beyond recognisable form as the strings and electronics do the same - to woozy, way-out effect. Nguyen's good natured vocals keep the ship from complete reality capsize, but then note by note, beat by beat the song rights itself just as various outsider sonic details arrive late to the party and keep the song pleasantly unbalanced and tripping to the end. It's a fine and fanciful slice of lysergic alt-pop, let's hope there's more than one single next year.

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Playlist Companion

Find Droolip in the Slow Alt-Pop Playlist.