MOUNT ST HELENS | Optimist Park

Musician Jeremy Mullins is a guy with two gigs. He’s one-half of Kiss Kiss Fantastic by day and Optimist Park by night. As the latter, he’s released a new and sprawling 13-song LP, “Mount St Helens”, the follow-up to his three-song EP “The Werewolf”. Their Bated Breath already dropped one single on you, last month, from the new record — a song called “The Batholith”. It’s a track that propels itself with moody guitar fuzz, a heavily romantic air, and sweeping vocal melodies. It’s a real beauty. Or you can try the softer side of Optimist Park, with his track “Kiss”. My favorite cut off the new album is the sexy and elegant love song, “Haunt You In You Sleep”: “We’ll melt the walls with our sound / We’ll shut down the entire grid … / Come back to me, my little dandelion.” This record is a lo-fi gem. It’s a mix of dramatic 80s-era synth roughened at the edges with dark flights of guitar, heavy percussion and a range of odd sounds. There are so many must-hear tracks, like “The Universe Is Us” and the stunning “Hikaru”. For being so atmospheric, “Mount St Helens” is a driving record, with drums pushing songs forward, and soaring guitars reaching out in frantic directions like tentacles in slow motion. This is a highly imaginative record. Listen to and download “Mount St Helens” at Optimist Park’s bandcamp page. – David D. Robbins Jr.

Optimist Park “Haunt You In Your Sleep”