Muun Bato – Paraphonic Vapors is Spacey Shoegaze

February 11, 2022

Muun Bato Paraphonic Vapors

Muun Bato of Minneapolis, MN has released their sophomore album Paraphonic Vapors on Cardinal Fuzz and Little Cloud Records in late 2021. Muun Bato is a powerhouse featuring members from some of Minneapolis’s best underground musicians. The band consists of members of Driftwood Pyre, Flavor Crystals and First Communion After Party. The self-titled album was released on fall of 2019 and sold out its pressing. The debut album was released through Little Cloud Records in the USA and Exag Records in the EU / Belgium. Muun Bato was named best new band of 2019 by Minneapolis’s premiere venue First Avenue which is best known for the film Purple Rain by Prince.

Paraphonic Vapor is their best album to date with more complex song structures, crystal clear tones and a stunning mix and master. The songs are dynamic with sections of experimental psychedelic rock and smooth near ambient moments with steady build-ups and sophisticated layers of instrumentation. This exciting new band takes inspiration from vintage and contemporary psychedelic and acid rock oscillating between psychedelic pop and rock.

The debut album had a strong focus on songwriting built around guitars and vocal verses and choruses. Paraphonic Vapor is more progressive with longer songs that explore expansive instrumental sections and rarely follow averse chorus vocal structure. The songs are fluid and follow a stream of sound that develops, transforms, builds and slows down. This complexity give the album an artistic flare that stretches the band to explore new sounds.

The production on Paraphonic Vapor is also next level and has tone and sounds that have depth and sophistication. The band consists of guitar, vocals, organs, synth and bass. The guitars are layered with smooth effects including thick reverb, echo, chorus, wah-wah and modulation. The two guitars work in harmony to produce a dense wall of sound that can be found in shoegaze music. The organs ring with drones and vintage tones bringing to the mind early music of Pink Floyd. There is a mix of decades on the album with alternative and psychedelic sounds from the 60s, 80s, 90s and today. The chorusing effects give the music an element of 80s new wave. The underlying sense of passive antagonism and tension shines a light on the 90s inspirations of the band. They also dive into futuristic and contemporary experimental and freakout acid rock. This conglomeration of influences blends perfectly and never feels segmented but every song, section and change in dynamic is smooth as ice.

The vocals of Joe Warner are recognizable from his other projects First Communion Afterparty and Driftwood Pyre. On this latest effort the mix and effects placed not he vocals takes them to new psychedelic heights. The vocals harmonies again call back the the Pink Floyd in the early days combined with the confidence and modern psych pop of Temples. The vocal production shifts from song to song to fit the profile. They shift from vintage to modern seeking clear smooth and glassy effects that help the voice to blend into the mix.