A genre-hopping listening experience that spans from blissful dreaminess to infectious energy, Mind Games is another memorable release from NYC artist Elevated Focusion. Blending underground hip-hop, punk, electronic, and goth aesthetics, the album features global collaborators and multi-lingual vocals. Last year’s album Space Dance caught our ears with its high-quality songcraft, and Mind Games thoroughly delights as well.
The album captivates in its knack for dynamic, transportive atmospherics throughout, apparent right away with opener “Acid Moon.” A psychedelic melding of wordless vocal soaring, tender guitar twangs, and throbbing synths coexist within jungle-like ambience. A glimmering synth pad then emerges as Luna Ivara’s dreamy vocals enthrall, moving into a multi-layered appeal as rumbling rhythms and wailing guitars intermingle. “Acid Moon” succeeds in both the rock and electronic realms, and that eclectic signature continues on the subsequent “Time.” “Feel like I’m drowning,” emotive vocals let out, its introspective depictions of turmoil ascending into an anthemic resonance in the final minute.
While meticulously crafted soundscapes are widely apparent, the album also stirs with a variety of pop-ready immediacy. One such example is “Wind of Doubt,” fondly resembling a La Roux-esque spiritedness as fierce vocals and fuzzy guitars play alongside illuminated synths; the result is a drivingly infectious mover. Meanwhile, the ensuing “Acid Bloom” brings listeners back to the heady, electronic world. Lyrical depictions of worldly exploration, and both its colorful wonders and sense of travel-laden isolation, maneuver amidst a gorgeous assortment of spacey synth swells, bilingual vocal pushes, and intensifying rhythmic intrigue. “I look beyond introspection, transcending imperfection,” Dyladamb’s hypnotic vocals emanate, pairing with the spacious soundscape for a track fit for pursuits of exploration and self-betterment.
Mind Games doesn’t let up in its tendency for striking contrasts and satiating structural builds. “Nightmare Horizon” initially echoes a sound reminiscent of Future Islands in its “running from my mind” vocal fervency and gyrating instrumentation, succeeding in doses of both bright hookiness and dark foreboding. Elsewhere, “Cryptonica” embraces that darkly ominous world entirely, weaving ghostly vocal chills and pulsating rhythms with artful precision — journeying from nocturnal, haunting mystique into a more elegant string-laden send-off. “Paradox” follows it up with an effervescent allure, combining sitar-y warmth and bustling electro drums as vocals venture with expressively melodic charm.
The album concludes with two mesmerizing productions. “Nuclear Calm” conjures an aptly anxious feeling, as its namesake would imply, as operatic vocal tones dazzle within an enthused industrial rock prowess, its twangy guitar tones being wonderfully climactic around midpoint. Album finale “Blood Reign” then envelops in its fusing of grimy hip-hop and rock-touched distortion, resembling a venomous trip-hop aesthetic with shades of Massive Attack. Consistently inventive and dynamic, Mind Games is another stunning success from Elevated Focusion.
