By Adven James

Mystery Palace is a place. Is a place where druggy sexiness and jittery electronics elbow for the same spot on the dance floor as an excuse to keep touching each other. Not long after, the two become the couple that has forgotten (or lustfully ignored) that they are in public – necking in front of everyone. In turn, everyone gives uneasy looks, backing away slowly, but never takes their eyes off the couple. Its unsettling and magnetic and exciting in a way that makes you remember the last time you were in those same sweaty, lip-locked dancing shoes. And in that memory, the DJ is playing something like “Flags Forward.”

“Flags Forward,” the new full-length from Mystery Palace, is a perfect after-club album. It’s a record that will make IDM fans dance and club kids think. It is smooth and sexy, but at the same time active and energetic, and even funny at times – like that friend slowly coming down from whatever (s)he took in the club bathroom four hours before.
All the classic elements of great dance tunes are there – sultry sung-whispered vocals, a persistent beat, and infectious melodies. But all of those elements are pushed to the sides and the back of the mix. Electronic blips, beeps, tweaks, and burbles rule the mix, popping in and out of unexpected places – begging the question of music nerds “Where does the noise end and the dance begin?”

With “Flags Forward”, Mystery Palace is likely to be recognized as an institution of truly intelligent dance music.

mystery-palace.com

Filed under: Music Reviews