Chicago-based singer-songwriter Sacha Mullin embraces a stylish pop-forward direction on Social Touch, his fourth album, balancing art-rock sophistication with sleek synth-pop hooks and expressive backing harmonies. Building on his characteristically adventurous arrangements, Mullin explores yearning and intimacy through atmospheric electronics, dynamic rhythms, and soaring melodic payoffs, also featuring returning collaborator Emily Bindiger on “Hypocenter.”
Opening track “Joy” is exemplary of Mullin’s ability to combine gorgeous harmonic layers with art-rock sophistication. “I conjure you and suddenly you’re home,” his soulful delivery delights as funky bass and balmy keys intertwine, expanding into the “joy that lives in me” refrain with pulsing string-touched momentum. A more synth-ready pop allure unveils on the gripping “Hypocenter,” featuring returning collaborator Emily Bindiger. Her lead presence joins with Mullin’s as a charismatic “can never replace” hook hits, channeling an anthemic ’80s pop spirit amidst themes of yearning. The production’s balancing of moody late-night synths with spirited performance culmination makes for a standout success.
The ensuing “Bad All Day” is another impressive single, where admissions of being afraid to “call it love” progress into a “want to be in your bed all day” smitten sense, reminding fondly of Erasure in its adoring synth-complemented pop drive. Elsewhere, the album’s title track stirs in its interplay of smooth guitar tones and spacey, buzzy electronics, while the lead presence here exudes a Wild Beasts-esque quivering emotion. “Odd Radio Circle” is excellent as well in its movement from dreamy electronic resonance to a second-half art-pop ferocity, like “Hypocenter” dazzling with backing harmonic power. Social Touch is a powerful success of an album from Sacha Mullin.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
