The Age of Aquarius

Dutch quartet YĪN YĪN take influence from Southern and Southeast Asian traditions, incorporating Thai melodies into their groove-heavy brand of psychedelia. Multi-instrumentalist and occasional vocalist Yves Lennertz plays the phin, a lute-like instrument originating from the Isan region of Thailand, and the band otherwise augment their standard rock band formation with synths and drum machines. The groups debut album, The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers, appeared in 2019, and became a sizeable hit on streaming services, appealing to fans of other genre-blurring, cross-cultural acts like Khruangbin, Leclair, and Khun Narin (a Thai group who also make the phin an integral part of their sound). The Age of Aquarius is YĪN YĪNs second album, and its far more ambitious than their debut, finding the group blasting off into space while creating their heaviest dance grooves yet. The title alludes to the musical Hair, and the opening and closing track titles refer to the Yuga Cycle in Hindu Cosmology. While the bands first album featured a track that emulated the chugging sequencers of Donna Summers "I Feel Love," this one is a much deeper dive into the cosmic disco realm, incorporating far more synthesizers, drum machines, and samples along with the groups live playing. "Chong Wang" cruises through the vast galaxy, guided by heavy analog synths, handclaps, and monstrous funk rhythms. "Nautilus" is the albums other big floorshaker, with a big, elastic bassline and snapping drum machines at the center, joined by vocoders, wah-wah guitar, sparkling synths, and a distinctive phin melody. The title track hits on a similar wavelength after starting out with a spoken explanation of the sign of Aquarius. The slower "Shēnzhou V." is laced with flexitone-like wiry percussion, scratchy guitars, and analog synth dust. Like the rest of the album, it feels like the type of lost, out-of-time gem that one would unexpectedly uncover after years of dedicated cratedigging. ~ Paul Simpson