Outer World

Who wouldn’t want a break from Planet Earth after the past few years we’ve all had? Kenneth Close and Tracy Wilson have built themselves a new universe in the form of a home recording studio to transport themselves a galaxy away from the grief, fear, and worry the pandemic brought. The duo dubbed themselves Outer World and they blasted off into an entirely new to them corner of the musical universe to create their debut album Who Does the Music Love?

Close and Wilson spent the previous decade creating technicolor post-punk as the band Positive No. Their final cinematic album Kyanite dabbled with electronic sounds and hints that had they remained active, their indie rock genre banner would have been torn down to make way for something more free and adventurous. Tucked into the layers of Who Does the Music Love? is a century of recorded music from all over the world. We find the dynamic swing of a Swedish soul jazz singer on top of Bond-worthy spy themes. We hear the sensuality of France in the 60s, when in swaggers a wink to 90s house music. There is a tug-of-war between 70s angular post-punk and experimental Brazilian psych. Cosmic Jazz, noisecore, freakbeat breaks, space-age bachelor pad Moog mayhem, and the treatment of the iconic retro-future group Broadcast as a genre and chosen family. This diverse blend represents just some of Outer World’s psychedelic garage-pop points of inspiration. It is music to make any crate digger’s heart skip a beat.