BENNI - l&ll LP

The great garage maniacs at the always-reliable Memphis label Goner records expand into synthwave on this truly riveting release from Bênní, who has previously done time in Wizzard Sleeve and Gary Wrong Group. You won’t find either of those band’s madcap take on punk and new wave here; instead, in I & II, Bênní has crafted a rich planet of sound, with expanding bands of synth and ominous, undualting bass. It’s cliche at this point to describe synth-based music as sounding like a “sci-fi soundtrack from the ’70s,” so let’s instead say that I & II feels like New Age music for Ufologists. The plaintive keyboards and heartbeat beats are tranquil enough, but there’s always the creeping sense that there’s something ominous hanging out just around the next corner. It’s as soft an beautiful as Venus seen through a telescope; but what lies beneath the surface is anybody’s guess.