(Funeral Party)

The brainchild of Nathan Dickinson, the music of Idol Mind is a meditation on ambient electro-pop. The easiest — and perhaps most obvious — comparison is to the sublime music of Washed Out, represented here by Dickinson’s minimalist techno approach, which privileges melody over the traditional verse-chorus structures, or any sort of EDM noodling. There is a melancholic air to the music found here, a wispy sort synth pop that sounds ripped from the chillest ’80s radio station. Reverb is played throughout the record like an additional instrument, almost as if the constituent bits of sound that make the song are floating adrift in a cave somewhere, coming in and out with the tide. It’s that relaxed feel that informs the entirety of the all-too-short record, a testament to Dickinson’s musical moderation and dedication to craft.