{"product_id":"mars-etc-lp","title":"Mars Etc. [LP]","description":"Audio Mixer: Olaf Opal.\u003cbr\u003eWith the release of Aloa Input's effervescent if somewhat scatterbrained debut, 2013's Anysome, the Munich-based trio were quickly dubbed the poster children for a loose collection of German indie rock bands dubbed the \"New Weird Bavaria\" movement. As with many of other bands from that scene, Aloa Input's sound is marked by a highly inventive, lightly experimental style liberally cobbled together from an eclectic barrage of influences including '70s Krautrock, '60s psych-pop, noise-rock, electronica, and the freewheeling neo-psych experimentalism of bands like the Flaming Lips, Neutral Milk Hotel, and the Beta Band. With the group's 2015 sophomore effort, Mars Etc., the trio of Marcus Grassl (guitar\/vocals), Florian Kreier (bass\/guitar\/synth), and Christoph \"Cico\" Beck (drums\/electronics) have crafted a dense, buoyant production featuring a handful of melodic, rhythmically infectious songs fleshed out with all sorts of interesting instrumentation and grooves. Cuts like the lead-off \"Far Away Sun\" and the languid \"The Door\" sound like Beach Boys tunes recorded on a '50s sci-fi movie spaceship, replete with bright vocals set against vibes and gurgling electronics. Elsewhere, they achieve a twee urgency in cuts like \"The Vampire Song\" and \"Hold On.\" Meanwhile, the sparkling, propulsive \"Blabla Theory,\" with its looped, Casio Keyboard-sounding beats and yearning, quietly delivered vocals, wouldn't sound out of place on the Nick Jr. kids show Yo, Gabba Gabba! Lyrically, Aloa Input are light-hearted and fun, often striking a poetic, absurdist tone. On the lilting \"21st Century Tale\" they sing, \"I'm a chain saw, but I wanna be a microwave instead.\" Ultimately, while Mars Etc. sounds like it was delightfully crafted out of brightly painted papier-mâché and a semi-dismantled Speak and Spell, it's a sound ripe with layered, spontaneous creativity that is at once surreal and dreamlike, melodic and catchy. ~ Matt Collar","brand":"InnerSleeve","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43083041603749,"sku":"880918813615","price":26.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/6007\/1077\/files\/0e380dcacb3cc9ba2f3b93b0ce574e00.jpg?v=1777738502","url":"https:\/\/www.innersleeve.com\/en-ca\/products\/mars-etc-lp","provider":"InnerSleeve","version":"1.0","type":"link"}