by Sara Nuta (@ok____sara)
Reptaliens’ latest release Multiverse is a kaleidoscope, refracting the daily minutiae of lockdown life into a technicolor vision. The Portland, Oregon-based duo made up of Cole and Bambi Browning released the album via Captured Tracks. You may recognize the band’s work from their sci-fi tinged catalog, which explores everything ranging from post-humanism to conspiracy theories to Philip K. Dick’s tales of techno-dystopia. Reptaliens’ discography glows with a cool-toned spacey aura, dipping into synth and dream pop with bits of psych rock. This time around, the band looks to more sublunary worlds, finding inspiration grounded in less surreal spaces.
Multiverse showcases the band’s unique kind of shaggy, dream pop. It’s one that works exceptionally well and seems more crisp than ever. Recorded in West Portland, Multiverse foregoes much of the synth eccentrics in favor of 90s alt rock inspired guitars, but there’s no shortage of swirling, gauzy melodies. Bambi’s voice is the perfect accompaniment to this album’s mellowed sound, floating through tracks equal parts soothing and spectral.
The album opener “I Feel Fine” is a springy pop cut filled with bright, fractalized guitar riffs, reminiscent of the bricolaged aura of Broadcast. Lyrically, “I Feel Fine” dives into the days spent at home blurring together, perhaps creating something more transcendent, maybe even spiritual. Bambi’s voice billows, velvety and reflective. Tracks like “Like A Dog” dig in with a sturdy guitar riff and others, such as “Take It” sound instantly familiar. “Go Away” is like an adult, space pop version of Dr. Seuss’ “I Am Not Going To Get Up Today!” as Bambi declares: “I got my pillow and some covers, now I hide away/ Ain't got no use for lovers and I can't come out to play.” These tracks effortlessly embody the feeling of closing oneself off to the world. The record finds strength in distilling dense anxieties into easy-going, energetic melodies. One of the highlights on the album is the closer, “Jump,” an atmospheric love song charged with an ominous undercurrent and topped off with a spacey breakdown over which Bambi delivers the lines: “Promise me I'll see you this weekend/Take my love and jump off the deep end.”
Multiverse might be Reptaliens’ best yet, striking the perfect balance between feeling grounded and blissfully spaced-out. It’s a warm, dreamy album that dips its toes into the dissociative, capturing some of their previous psych-rock haze, just a bit mellowed out. One of the most intriguing aspects about Reptaliens is their effortless ability to explore the phantasmagorical, the strange, the unusual, and somehow make it all relatable; they paint a dreamy escapist picture.