Album Review: I Need New Eyes by Larry Gus

Relying less on samples than Years Not Living two years prior, the self-produced I Need New Eyes finds difficult-to-label electronic experimenter Larry Gus (Greek musician Panagiotis Melidis) still painting uncommon rhythmic songscapes, this time on a canvas of more comprehendible pop structures. Mixed by fellow experimenter Alex Epton (aka XXXChange of Win Win), the record also features ethereal vocals by Moscow-based Kate Shilonosova (aka NV) on "Belong to Love," an easygoing, synth pop type of tune -- ambient-leaning yet active in percussion in the second half and dotted with dissonant woodwinds and keyboard squawks. For straightforward synth pop, there's also the livelier "A Set of Replies.

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When Panagiotis Melidis, the Greek producer who records as Larry Gus, first began releasing music, his primary mode of expression was parroting other artists to create sample-heavy pastiche. His productions encompassed everything from Afrobeat to hip-hop; after signing to DFA, his first two albums for the label were somewhat unsteady attempts to turn bits and pieces into a cohesive whole, taking cues from prototypical psych pop outfits like El Guincho and Animal Collective. His last album, Years Not Living, was a more conceptually confident (if sometimes muddy-sounding) stew of African-influenced grooves, slathered-on samples, and his own heavily layered vocals.

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