Released: 02/09/22
Don’t be mislead by the band name, for the jock-bro-ey springbreaker connotations it conjures are the antithesis of this North American trio’s beautiful and cerebral synth-psych, which takes in drone and polyrhythmic complexity in equal measure. The group even made an LP (last year) consisting entirely of Sun Ra interpretations, for goodness’ sake, called Switched On Ra. Incidentally (as any fule kno), the ‘switched on’ prefix is a tribute, as it is for Stereolab, to albums such as 1968’s Switched-On Bach that employ Moog synthesizers as the main instrument … oh, you may think me a nerd, but …
Anyway, it’s been almost five years since BB’s last official full-length, 2017’s excellent Bajas Fresh, and Bajascillators actually exceeds already lofty expectations. Highlights are crystalline album-opener “Amorpha”, a side-long shower of synthetic bell-and-bass patterns that interlock and repeat atop a constantly shifting beat, and “Geomancy” – its heavy drift and drone leading into a space of broken lines and Middle Eastern tonalities that roll back into the ether. In the words of bros everywhere, its, like, totally bitchin.