A mix of jazz, funk, and ambient, Weird Party’s newest album, “Mellow Funk, Vol. 1,” has an atmospheric and relaxing sound to it.
When the needle (yes, this recording is extra-apropos on vinyl) first hits Side A, you’re immediately transported to a secluded beach that stretches on for miles with the perfect barrels breaking in the turquoise water.
The smooth vibe doesn’t stop there: flip over to Side B and continue the nostalgic trip with “Tahiti (Reprise)” and “Mon Amour”. Despite side B being much shorter, it still brings a whole lot of 60’s psychedelic nostalgia with it.
The lyric-less (save for the odd injection of subtle, vocoder-heavy phrases, repeated much like another instrument; their most verbose song has three unique words in it) landscape of the album makes it perfect walk/work music, and each side seems to crest in the middle with peppier numbers before mellowing out again, making the front-to-back experience not unlike the tides flowing in and out, in and out.
With no extreme stylistic diversions from song to song, the whole thing is 100% Weird Party, and there’s no doubt that this incredibly well-produced album would make the perfect soundtrack for your next art show, martini tasting, or acid trip.