Depressedelica

Though the project has issued numerous short-form collections since its inception in 2011, Depressedelica is just the second full-length by lo-fi artist Mat Cothran under the Elvis Depressedly banner. It follows a string of releases from other projects since 2015s New Alhambra, Depressedlys Run for Cover Records debut. Said sidelines included material with his band Gremlins, a self-declared final album with Coma Cinema, and multiple releases under his own name. While similar, his Elvis Depressedly output has tended to involve more expansive production with psychedelic and electronic components, though it remains distinctly intimate in nature. Song titles like Primal Sigh, Lets Break Up the Band, and New Love in the Summertime, reflect the dispirited, deceptively romantic disposition of the album. Its a songwriting tone that cuts through fractured production, such as on Control, a song that moans, flickers, and clops behind trudging piano chords and glitchy vocals that convey a depressed state. Eventually, timbres like mechanical handclaps, synth bass, and even clave join the design. This type of layered texturing is present throughout Depressedelica, though effects make way for catchy grooves on tracks like Chariot, which adopts a driving, melodic post-punk, and the folkie Can You Hear My Guitar Rotting? The album closes on the misleadingly jaunty New Love in the Summertime, which asks Is it the autumn that makes us crazy/Is it the winter that breaks our minds?/Is it the spring that keeps us longing for a new love in the summertime? Taken together, the album is reminiscent of works by home-recorded contemporaries like (Sandy) Alex G and Julia Brown while continuing to cement Depressedlys unique voice. ~ Marcy Donelson