Utero Dei

Mondo Lavas music seems like it aims to transport listeners to a distant fantasy island from the comfort of a dank, musty basement in a crowded city. The project started in Davis, California, during the 2000s, and is now international, as founder James Ketchum has relocated to Spain. Their sound hasnt changed too much since the group started, however, as its still very lo-fi, recorded to cassette using cheap keyboards and hand drums. Utero Dei seems a bit more overtly nostalgic than other Mondo Lava releases, with the occasional early rock & roll/doo wop sample popping up, and one track essentially being a warped cover of "Tequila." It also ends up being a sort of flashback to 2000s-era cassette culture, particularly the homespun psychedelia of the Not Not Fun label, and others in that realm. Utero Dei cruises along through distorted or imagined memories of exotic destinations, with blown-out rhythms rubbing up against tropical-sounding melodies. "Lady in the Lake" has a flurry of tabla drumming along with dramatic and very plastic-sounding keyboards. "Brass Fields" is more of a wayward new age/psych jam, while others like "JMWAVE1966" and the jaunty "Golem Boogie" double down on thumping drum machines. "Decalcified Pineal Gland" edges closer to acid-fried dub, and the back end of the album is a bleary rush, as if vacation is about to end and theyre dealing with it by getting as wasted as possible. ~ Paul Simpson