Mystic 100's – On a Micro Diet | Album Review
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SELF-RELEASED
How do you know when an artist has rebranded or simply taken a step that is a natural evolution in their journey? It can be hard to tell. When Vampire Weekend put out Father of the Bride, they rebranded their image and, somewhat unsuccessfully, their sound. It was their first album to not feature founding member Rostam Batmanglij, and the group decided to shift from their Ivy League coolness to a looser, crunchier, and dare I say, vibier outlook that was expressed in both their sonic and visual presentations. Good on them for trying something different, but the results were underwhelming because their new direction seemed so calculated and forced.
This is not the case for Mystic 100’s, the Olympia, Washington band formerly known as Milk Music. While they have undergone a name change, the band’s new (or should I say debut?) album, On a Micro Diet, feels like a natural next step for the group. Both Milk Music and Mystic 100’s worship the guitar, but the ways they practice their devotion are different. Milk Music’s sound was hard-charging riffs and rapid solos in the vein of Dinosaur Jr, while Mystic 100’s take on a much more exploratory sound that is elongated, jammy, and improvised at times. To put it in the dumbest way I can think, Milk Music is the bouillon cube, condensed and pungent, and Mystic 100’s are the broth, expansive and warm.
On a Micro Diet is a long album, spanning seventy-five minutes over nine songs, but it never feels like it overstays its welcome. I’ve listened to the album on walks with my dog, while I was cleaning the kitchen, chilling in the hot tub, and even at the gym, never once feeling as though the durations of the songs were testing my willpower. In fact, it was the loose and almost unstructured feel of the music that kept pulling me back. When I wasn’t listening, I often found myself humming bits of melodies as I went about my daily tasks. These timestamps grounded me each time I returned for another listen, allowing me to find new details in the band’s wanderings.
Mystic 100’s do an excellent job of mixing things up, something that is not always guaranteed in this realm of music. “Message from Lonnie” is a mid-tempo expression of love that grooves like waves lapping against the beach at sunset and perfectly showcases Alex Coxen’s melodic soloing. The nearly twenty-minute centerpiece “Have You Ever Chased a Lightbeam?” is just begging to be played at this year’s Desert Daze festival. The song requires patience as it shifts back and forth from a “Cortez the Killer”-style seance limbo state of guitar feedback, but is rewarding if you are willing to trust the band. Amidst all of the sunburnt daydreaming, you can still see traces of their former selves in “Windowpane,” a straight-ahead strummer that acts as a moment of clarity before descending further into madness.
This is who Mystic 100’s was born to be. By shedding their Milk Music skin, they have given themselves the freedom to explore their interests fearlessly. If you are willing to let go of your inhibitions, you will find something to enjoy in On a Micro Diet.
Connor lives in Emeryville with his partner and their cat and dog, Toni and Hachi. Connor is a student at San Francisco State University and is working toward becoming a community college professor. When he isn’t listening to music or writing about killer riffs, Connor is obsessing over coffee and sandwiches.
