Symphonic mood-setter “The Jetsons” is a masterful release from Astro Tan, the Portland, OR-based trio most recently featured with “Duck Fat” and “Whiskey + Water“. Mood and atmosphere were quite evident on those releases, but even more so here with “The Jetsons”, where creeping strings and psych-friendly guitars enter the fold over flexible vocals that expand from sullen nonchalance to emotive heights. Featuring Peter Lee Johnson on strings and Dave Dolengewicz on flute, the track aims to “personify an affair between people from upper and middle class lives with two Hanna-Barbera cartoons.” “”The Jetsons” was set on primetime television spots and targeted towards upper class families, while “The Flinstones” was written for and oriented to the working class, so I guess the hope was to examine what was a real life attraction in what felt like a “Lady and the Tramp” dichotomy at times — structurally and rhythmically it kind of feels like two short songs welded together,” the group explains.
The track is off their excellent new album Canary, available for streaming in full below:
