Philadelphia-based artists Simon Martinez and Zane Shields have a weird and wild musical project together called Pulgas. With Martinez on guitar and vocals and Shields handling drums, they conjure a “cosmogenetic whirlpool” (per their official bio) of musty jazz and funk, hyperactive electronic beats, and lo-fi indie balladry. Their songs tend to morph through a few shapes, held together more by mood than any structural template. Or as their Bandcamp explains it, “Pulgas is undeniable garbage wizardry.”

“That’s A Big Stain,” the opener from their imminent More Like Us EP, drops you right into their zonked headspace. Right away we hear a tumble of drum-n-bass breakbeats, tweaked music box sounds, and an assortment of guitar and keyboard swells like half-forgotten memories. Martinez’s low, measured vocals navigates through the chaos toward brief moments of peace. It’s a song that rarely finds its footing, leaving listeners intentionally off-kilter in its pursuit of an usual kind of beauty.

What I am saying is they are as good at making odd music as they are at coming up with funny ways to describe it. Listen below.

TRACKLIST:

01 “That’s A Big Stain”
02 “World Gym”
03 “Rub”
04 “Precious Patch”

More Like Us is out 9/28 on Astro Nautico. Pre-order it here.