Monster Rally – “Sunflower” (Stereogum Premiere)
Still longing for that new Avalanches album that might never actually come out? Monster Rally — aka Los Angeles producer Ted Feighan — is not an exact substitute, but his chilled-out tropical sound collages will take you to similar imaginary places. Feighan has accumulated an impressive number of evocative tracks over the course of four years, but the Sunflower EP he’s releasing tomorrow, inspired by a recent trip to Japan, might be the best thing he’s ever done. Sunflower’s four songs split the difference between jazzy oriental boom-bap and Pacific breeze yacht jams that conjure the same mirage-like nostalgic vibes as chillwave without merely replicating that sound. The title track, streaming below, is a damn fine example of the latter. Press play and enjoy.
Sunflower is out 4/29 on Gold Robot through all digital retailers including Bandcamp. Gold Robot is also re-releasing Monster Rally’s sold-out Coral LP on 5/6; order that here.