Jackalico delves into delightfully shaggy dog stories on the woozy wonder of “Toxic High EP”. Full of tremendous heart, his vocals truly have a warm welcoming presence to them. Akin to a friend telling you about the night they had there is a charm to it all. The arrangements help to solidify this joyous celebration. Melodies have a richness to them while they remain irresistibly catchy. Every song feels drenched in endless sunlight a virtually unending early morning the day it all happened. Grooves remain completely unrushed the sound possessing a lo-fi spirit to it all.
Comparisons abound from the unhinged enthusiasm of R. Stevie Moore’s early playful, work to the innocent bewilderment of early period Animal Collective. Full of intricate detail within the seemingly simple arrangements. He shows off a subtle sophistication at times featuring dreamy, otherworldly choirs that float up to the sky. With a particular fondness for folk, he moves towards a bit of the anti-folk scene. Instead of going for the formality of folk, he engages in anti-folk’s unending playfulness. Not afraid to get things messy he lets the many layers intermingle resulting in vast tapestries with bright brilliant colors.
“Unicorn Teeth” sets the EP on a high note. Tempos take a laid-back approach having a bit of haze to them. Guitars start out straightforward with each reiteration taking them a little further away from reality. For the end he simply lets it all loose. A true highlight embraces on the soothing “Ambivalence” where Jacklico lets the flourishes of sound gradually overtake the whole piece. His patience is effective for he creates a myriad stream of consciousness approach as it becomes so easy to get lost in, with all the echoing effects. Elastic drum machine grooves anchor “Breakfast In Bed”. Truly fantastic the riffs weave their way through the piece, a nice angular punk inflection that at times touches upon Ryan Power’s surreal wordplay.
“Slow” gives a nod to Panda Bear’s gentle ambience, right down to his ability to create a whole other world. Elements of dub inflect the whole of the intrepid journey of “Kiss The Yellow Light”. With the duration Jackalico messes with listener expectations, letting the beat work akin to punctuation to his words. Finishing the EP off in a gorgeous way “Universe, Please Be Kind Today” displays an uncanny ability to bring the listener along on a krautrock sort of trip, as the rhythm has a sprawling endless quality to it.
Representing the best of outsider pop, Jackalico’s “Toxic High EP” has a strange, twisted poetry to it, from the jagged edges of the fuzzy riffs to his spaced-out singing.
