Mild High Club, the project of producer and multi-instrumentalist Alex Brettin, have released their first album in four years, Going Going Gone, via Stones Throw Records.
The album, co-written and co-produced by Brettin, takes a more political approach than previous releases. With Vicky “Farewell” Nguyen’s guidance, the 12-song record acts as a seamless journey, flowing from track to track.
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While Mild High Club aren’t trading in the sun-bleached sound of Skiptracing or Timeline, they do address denser themes. Paranoia, gun violence, climate change and more are all present across the album’s lead single, “Me Myself And Dollar Hell.” Meanwhile, “Dionysian State” represents the pretense of individualism, backed by a saxophone line that will make you swoon.
Other tracks feel straight out of a Kurt Vonnegut novel. “Trash Heap” imagines a reality where the protagonist, a grandpa who gambles, drains his savings account at a slot machine and then staggers off to buy drugs. The record is also imbued with a sense of hope and resolve. “Taste Tomorrow,” with drumming by Knxwledge (Anderson .Paak, Joey Bada$$), offers solace in the fact that even though some days feel draining, the next one is a blank slate.
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Along the way, Mild High Club’s disorienting sound permeates the tracks, with Brettin melding jazz, electronic, psych and Brazilian influences into a woozy groove. It’s music of a high order, fit to soundtrack both Doc Sportello and The Dude‘s stoner mishaps—enveloped in a thick cloud of smoke, of course. Perhaps it will inspire you to find some ease in your life.
Check out the album and watch the video for “Dionysian State” below. You can purchase physical copies of the record here.
Going Going Gone tracklisting:
01. “Kluges I”
02. “Dionysian State”
03. “Trash Heap”
04. “Taste Tomorrow”
05. “A New High” (feat. Winter)
06. “It’s Over Again”
07. “Kluges II”
08. “I Don’t Mind The Wait”
09. “Dawn Patrol”
10. “Waving”
11. “Me Myself And Dollar Hell”
12. “Holding Onto Me”