San Diego-based act The Tabloids deliver a mesmerizing blend of jangly psychedelia and dreamy introspection on new album If Not Now, When?, weaving together shimmering guitar textures and lushly layered vocals. The album presents an immersive sonic journey that balances hypnotic atmospheres with moments of layered gorgeousness.
The album immerses right away with opening track “All Around You.” A melding of hazy acoustics and soaring electric guitars accompany a dreamy vocal intrigue, flowing with a psych-friendly ethereality. Shades of The Stone Roses show in the aesthetic here, fondly, as twanging guitars add an invigorating quality as the two-minute turn approaches. The warming acoustic strums give way in the second half to free-flowing guitar delights, then fading into an effervescent glow. If Not Now, When? opens with two of its lengthiest tracks, both spanning over seven minutes — and they are masterful displays of what to anticipate throughout, being hypnotic psychedelic gems that balance lush introspection and ardent doses of guitar-laden enthusiasm.
“Fly” follows with similarly atmospheric qualities, providing a delectably dazed sound bolstered by the commencing lyrics: “I’ve been feeling so high.” The glistening strums and steady percussion build into jangly expressions as the vocals emerge with precision; aesthetically there’s an enjoyable likeness to Spiritualized. The high-flying nature of “Fly” comes down into more life-like reflections within “Gravity,” whose lyrical perspectives on both ups and downs pair with a yearning to “slip into space,” and attain a blissful entrancement. The thematic meditations and serenely impactful vocals infuse within swaying guitars for another success.
Another standout, “Going Nowhere” swells from synth-y brightness into rousing guitar lines; these layers of instrumentation mingle with artful cohesion as comforting vocals maintain a continuous tone with wonderfully lulling qualities. Elsewhere, “Who’s to Say?” casts a balmy gentleness in its softly jangling guitars and pit-pattering percussive backbone. The lyrics contemplate reality and associated emotions, opting for familiar melodic repetition to maintain an approachably psychedelic radiance.
Album finale “Sight Unseen” continues to showcase a gripping array of intertwining guitar work and strong vocal captivation. “That’s alright, I don’t mind,” a confident nonchalance emits, admitting thereafter that “there’s no time,” for second-guessing. Within the caressingly melodic and jangly psychedelic arsenal are memorable vocal sequences, particularly in the slight reflective backings — “I don’t care,” — that further add to the dreamy aesthetic. If Not Now, When? is a consistently consuming success from The Tabloids.
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“All Around You” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
