By Raushan Melton
Arts Editor
“Soft Hair”, the new album created by Connan Mockasin and LA Priest, combines harmonic, vibrating synths and unconventional vocals to create a hazy, whimsical collaboration.
An outlandish pairing, Mockasin and LA Priest successfully mesh together booming electronic noises, bizarre lyrics, and strange sound effects, while acknowledging multiple decades’ worth of musical styles.
Connan Mockasin, a New Zealand based psychedelic pop singer, is best known for his previous 2014 album “Forever Dolphin Love” and hit song “I’m The Man That Will Find You.” LA Priest, also known as Sam Eastgate, is the former lead singer of the indie band “Late of the Pier”, and released his first single work under the name of LA Priest “Inji” in 2015. Individually, each are known for their unusual behavior and indie electronic musical styles.
The two began their odd friendship and the duo for “Soft Skin”’s creation in 2007 after having a fight upon their first meeting. Their first album together took more than 5 years to produce, but nonetheless the band created an eccentric, imaginative and funk-influenced, album.
To open the album, the song “Relaxed Lizard” greatly utilizes the distinguished, odd vocals of Mockasin and Priest. Almost a slight whining, a soprano high voice fluctuates down into a low, vibrating tenor pitched speaking. Though these transformations would normally leave listeners uncomfortable, the duo pulls off the dynamic singing by pairing themselves with a jazzy bass and retro synth, successfully nodding their heads to the 60’s.
Read about Dazed Digital’s thoughts on the album “Soft Hair”.
Following, “Jealous Lies” layers a plucking bass and an animated rhythm to emphasize the unique sound additions. The multitude of beats woven into the song first sounds like an intro to a late-90’s video game, but soon progress into one of the album’s highlights. The steady tempo pulses throughout the song while soft vocals help disguise any unconventional effects. In its entirety, the song shows the artists’ complex range within the album.
With the lyrics of “I like to watch you run, but I’ll never touch your bum,” Mockasin and Eastgate exemplify their creative, and strangely funny, word choices in “Lying Has to Stop”. Though the song sounds playful and dreamy, these weird lyrics are hard to ignore. Through the whole album, the pair create an unorthodox and almost creepy word choice, but because the lyrics are drowned out with intricate instruments, they rarely ruin a complete song.
“Soft Hair” also sweeps through a broad range of instrument usage and sounds. Though the entire album tends to blend into one whole zero gravity, groovy atmosphere, small distinct notes help add depth to the album. The addition of a saxophone in “In Love” and a thick, vibrating bass generate odd complexities that don’t deviate from the album’s obvious ambience, but rather simply add musical profundity.
The only negative aspect of the album is its lack of diversity in shorter, brief tracks. Songs like “i.v” and ending song “l.i.v” both render soft humming and light synths that only unnecessarily extend the album. Sadly, these two songs contribute nothing to the album, and instead exemplify the bizarre, unappealing emotions that are incorporated throughout the album.
To listen to Soft Hair, click here.
“Soft Hair” may be slow at some points throughout, but in a complete perspective, the band manipulates intriguing instruments, hypnotizing vocals and unique musical additions to create a calm and trance-like listen.
“Soft Hair” can be found on iTunes for $8.99.
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