Neon Indian: "Annie"
Contrary to prevailing beliefs, chillwave was very real and all but defined by the early Neon Indian singles “Deadbeat Summer”, “Terminally Chill”, and “Should’ve Taken Acid With You”. But Alan Palomo was perhaps the least representative of its founding fathers—just about the only chillwaver who wasn’t initially awful in a live setting, Palomo actually danced on stage, his mop of curls obscuring his deep-set eyes. He seemed to be embracing the possibility of rock stardom, and by 2011′s Era Extraña, he linked his previous work with shoegaze and glam, wisely positioning chillwave within a lineage of sexy, drugged-up subgenres.
It’s held up well, but Palomo appears eager to clarify and assert himself on “Annie”, the presumptive first preview of LP3. While Psychic Chasms could’ve been the soundtrack of a lost weekend, Era Extraña was inspired by a breakup and meltdown in Finland, and it seems the past six years are a hangover that needs to end now. “Annie” is the most aggressive Neon Indian song to date—there’s no give on its surface, and Palomo’s voice is mixed loud and clear, the guitars filtered for crispness rather than blurred.
Still, this is Neon Indian, so the tropical thump has to be somewhat warped. This time, it’s less Ariel Pink than Scritti Politti covering “La Isla Bonita”, evoking forward-thinking 1980s pop artists rather than simply sounding 80s. And if you are feeling nostalgic for the summer of 2011, Neon Indian arrives just at the right time, as “Annie” is very much an electro-pop song for when temperatures grow more humid, our actions less responsible and the nights longer. But with every repetition of an anachronistic plea for a lost lover to “answer the machine,” Palomo sounds as charmingly out of step with the modern bustle as he’s always been.
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