- When it comes to underground sounds from Florida, the Gainesville scene might not have the cache of Miami (longtime noise hub) or even Tampa (crawling with art freaks), yet it has certainly evolved into a self-sustaining enterprise. The city has been an incubator for an impressive array of sound explorers (Jeffry Astin, Josh Tippery), labels (Housecraft, Rotifer, MJ MJ) and unique art spaces (The Church Of Holy Colors). Furthermore, it's a scene that possesses a strong collective identity, one passionate about mixed-media psychedelia and what this reviewer has previously tagged "Southern cosmic"—that warm amalgam of synthesizer exploration and DIY electronics that has emerged from the American South in recent years.
One of Gainesville's key artists is multi-instrumentalist Tristan Whitehill. Since 2012, the progression of his Euglossine project has been documented in a short but growing stack of cassettes and CDs. Initial titles came awash in neo-New Age primitivism and hypnogogic decay that felt inspired by the Not Not Fun and Hooker Vision labels. But with last year's Dance District and now Tristaria, he has shifted his focus to creating an effervescent and colorful blend of space-age bachelor pad music, 8-bit video game scores, bubblegum pop and all manner of late '70s jazz-funk.
Now, let's be clear about this: Tristaria is pure fruity cuteness. If it were a cocktail, it'd be served in a hollowed-out coconut with a half-dozen pink parasols sticking out. But as the album's standouts demonstrate (among them "Isle Of Light," "Right On" and nine-minute closer "Hijinks In The Heavenly Flux"), Whitehill transcends mere candied novelty thanks to his knack for intricately woven arrangements, wherein melody and rhythm become one and the same. Indeed, the artist (equally proficient on guitar, keys and programming) really knows how to unleash euphonious sound that bops, twists and somersaults with unbridled glee. Yet another notable skill is his ability to construct dot-matrix funk grooves that expand both vertically and horizontally. For example, while the percussive elements powering "Color's Chemistry" clatter down the highway at a swift clip, the track's synth-generated woodwinds and brass pirouette upward and outward, like dayglo feathers caught in a tropical breeze.
The record's best cut is its most anomalous: "Two Paradises Separate" is rooted in "incredibly strange music" (to borrow a phrase from RE/Search's influential exotica compilation), yet its mix of watery arpeggios, agile jazz guitar and vocal flourishes all help push it into more of a Pop Ambient direction. It's a sound Whitehill will hopefully explore further in the future.
Tracklist01. Tristaria
02. Delights Of All Sorts
03. Right On
04. Esther Poly
05. Isle Of Light
06. Color's Chemistry
07. Two Paradises Separate
08. Hijinks In The Heavenly Flux