On his 2016 debut album Basement Behavior, Seance Crasherâs Kevin Rafn dialed in the sound heâd been exploring over the previous few years. With the help of producer Riley Geare (Unknown Mortal Orchestra), Rafn fortified the lo-fi bedroom aesthetic of his early EPs and steadied his tentative (but undeniably tuneful) synth-pop with tighter arrangements and some reliable blues and rock moves. The result was a strong, confident recordâlike watching an awkward teenager grow into a self-assured young adult.
With that framework set, Rafn sounds ready to start exploring again on Seance Crasherâs sophomore album, Gentle Cycle. Out of the picture (or at least the album credits) is Geare, with Rafn taking his place in the producerâs chair. Throwback vibes still fill the air, but across these eight tracks, Seance Crasher turns toward a particularly psychedelic brand of synth-fueled funk.
Opening track âHaymakerâ wastes no time establishing this new sound, with Rafn cooing about kissing while a bass line burbles low in the mix and wah-wah guitars swell and pop like soap bubbles. Later, âCandy Lipsâ takes this model and pumps it up with disco swagger, while âFeel It,â with its vibrant synths and snappy pace, sounds like it was imported from the soundtrack of some long-lost futuristic â80s film. Itâs the perfect lead-in to album highlight âShotgun,â where all of Rafnâs inclinationsâzips and zaps, boogie-down rhythms, convincing retro-strut, memorable melodiesâcome together to create a distinctive mini-world.
Elsewhere, Seance Crasher returns to some of its tried and true influencesânamely â70s songwriter pop, Ă la Todd Rundgrenâon songs like the spacious and soaring âHomeless Pierce Brosnan,â and they sound more at ease tucked into those grooves than they do on most of the synth-funk tracks. Which is totally fine, because overall, Gentle Cycle is not just an album, but a document of a bandâs growth spurt.