This album creates its own world and at the same time makes one forget that there is a world at all. Lower Dens’ album »Twin-Hand Movement«, released in 2010, was one of these soundtracks for cosy winter days in with your girl- or boyfriend. It gently played along the playlists with The xx or Beach House. Their new album is more demanding. Nothing is lost that way, the quartet around Jana Hunter rather gains diversity with it. The dreamy guitar pop on the first record is powered by striking synths (inspired by Kraftwerk) and Kraut-Rock-Elements. The first album allowed us to get lost in a romantic bubble with afternoon-TV, power naps and snuggle orgies with coffee breaks; »Nooptropics« makes the bubble burst every once in a while. The album takes the listener out of the urban misery of Baltimore, out onto the dirt tracks of Maryland; lit up by a shaky spotlight only, they lift the listener onto the abstract. The more consciously you listen to the album, the less concrete are the images it is depicting. The sound also goes back and forth: On one hand it is edgy – you can almost see how the drum-stick pinches the tensly tightened membrane. On the other hand, endless synths and guitar spaces unclearly waft and lay themselves over the musical landscape. It’s the same story with the vocals: Once, Hunter sings high-pitched and concisely – street signs shoo past – and then, she changes to aspirating one smokey, dark tone until time seems gone.
Nootropics
