Marshmallow Coast – Vangelis Rides Again (LP / CD)

Some people are in it for the money, some people are in it for the drugs. Andy Gonzales (ex-of Montreal, the Music Tapes, Mind Brains) is in it for the music. In a career of stylistic left-turns and singular talent, Vangelis Rides Again is the most singular, affecting record in the career of Marshmallow Coast, a brittle prog-pop wasteland that leaves the listener weeping and numb. Everything sounds like it emerged from an empty late-night hotel lounge in decline, a dark sense of urgency delivered in a laid-back style. It’s the end of the world as seen through pharmaceutical gauze. It’s the most mysterious and moving record of an inscrutable career, a record as unique and warm and captivating as an unread suicide note at the bottom of a shoebox.