Despite always being somewhat of a prevailing sound, over the past five to ten years, the wholly broad genre of psych-pop has seen a meteoric rise with artists like Tame Impala and Unknown Mortal Orchestra leading the fray. Riding this wave or not, similarly sounding artists the world over have appeared out of the woodwork which has led to a myriad of both hits and misses, but for the Canadian duo of Daniel MacKenzie and Peter Mol, otherwise known as Smokehouse, they've shared nothing but the primer since their debut in the turbulent year of 2020.
With "Too Many," their first release of the year, and third single overall, it's become clear that they're taking their time with each poised release, and are slowly but surely building a formidable catalogue.
Cutting straight into a pensive strut of a rhythm, the melancholic tone of the smoothly falsettoed vocal sets an immediate halcyon tone to the track, melodically directed by the warmly filtered keys that softly flutter beneath. Transitioning into the buttery chorus, the rhythm subtly grows in complexity to add further groove to the truly sublime vocal harmonies that do nought but stop you in your tracks.
Just as you get used to the silky to and fro of the verse and chorus, past the second chorus, a new, synth-driven passage sweeps in like a cascading tidal wave, crafting a mesmeric wall of sound that manages to supersede the delights experienced thus far.
"'Too Many' was a song that took its time unfolding," they outline in an email statement. "Originally it started as a vibe worktape in LA with Jon Joseph. It came back home with us and eventually became the floating psych experience it is now after a couple years of identity crisis, and has become one of our favorite songs we’ve ever worked up," and with quality like this, it'll likely become your favourite song they've ever worked up too.
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