With their
Angelo
EP,
Brijean
evoke a clubby dream world inspired by the tropical house, disco, and funk of the 1970s and early '80s. The story goes that around the same time that
released their second album, 2022's
Feelings
, the duo of percussionist/singer
Brijean Murphy
and bassist/instrumentalist/producer
Doug Stuart
were going through some tough times. Not only were they struggling along with everybody else through the COVID-19 pandemic, but they were on the road, traveling in their 1981 Toyota Celica and moving from California to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was also during this period that
Murphy
's father died and
Stuart
lost both his parents. Looking for a sense of solace, they began recording, wrapping themselves in bubbly house grooves, '70s disco, and funk. The result is
, an EP named after their trusty Celica, which works as a nice companion album to
. Cuts like "Take a Trip," "Shy Guy," and "Ooo La La" have a swirly, psychedelic day-glo quality, like something N.Y.C. club icons
Deee-lite
might have come up with in the early '90s. It's a vibe
particularly capture on the title track, where bubbly synths rub playfully against waterdrop bass and breathy alien vocals. There are also several more languidly atmospheric cuts like "Where Do We Go?," with its undercurrents of orchestral Latin pop, and "Caldwell's Way," both of which sound like the hippest vintage movie-theater intermission music you've ever heard. ~ Matt Collar