Listening to the Dolphins EP from San Francisco’s Mi Ami feels like a thirty minute trip into deep space. Pulsing, deep, rhythmic beats and shrill desolate vocals, plunge you further into the journey. It’s electronic pop for when its 4:30am and you’re positive you’ll never need sleep again.
With one 4 song EP, Mi Ami have gone from high energy, noisy avant garde rock trio to a slightly mellower, hypnotically intense electronic duo. No review of Dolphins can ignore the fact that in the past year and a half, Mi Ami has created something many fans might not expect. There is not a trace of guitar or any of the acoustic percussion styling that is very much apart of what was their signature indie rock sound. However, Daniel Martin-McCormick’s shrill often unintelligible lyrics carry the Mi Ami torch.
What’s left in this stripped down electronic version of Mi Ami is a dark, synth laden landscape of sound where the electronic pulsing kick drum pushes you through dense air. There’s a lot of isolation coming through on Dolphins. It’s haunting. A nighttime beach party in a cave where you realize you don’t recognize a single face around.
Dolphins is not a hard pill to swallow, just an unexpected curveball. Imagine Blond Redhead putting out an album that sounded like Crystal Castles and you’ll get the gist. With that said, Crystal Castles fans should definitely check this release out.
–Nicole Leigh