There’s a strange elegance to Kamikaze Palm Tree’s sophomore album, Mint Chip, a delightfully unusual art rock album that has grown to one of our favorites of the year. The Los Angeles duo have built their own world, with idiosyncratic songwriting, that feels pulled from alien planets, with melodies that are often hard fought but undeniably captivating. Recorded together with Tim Presley (White Fence), there’s definitely lo-fi magic abounding from every nook and cranny of their songs, with unlikely percussive elements, detuned guitars, and impeccable wonkiness that never finds solid ground but stumbles in a fancy state of grace. With elements of Deerhoof, Sic Alps, and Cate Le Bon all making a presence in the Mint Chip recipe, Kamikaze Palm Tree are able to warp disparate sounds together into something magnetic and radiant, their songs becoming unbelievably memorable not just for it’s melodic subversions, but its most unlikely hooks end up the most gluey. - DG