Williamstown, Massachusetts’ Won Ton Death is not your typical find: his music is an irresistible and rare merger between past and future. Jake Gagne (Won Ton Death) puts together exotic tracks that are glazed with melancholy and draw from ‘80s dream-pop elements. The songs flash electronic patterns only made possible by today’s sophisticated music-making programs. The production is crisp, but the mood is that of lo-fi intimacy and secluded artistry escaping the bedroom. Bordering on neo-psychedelia, Won Ton’s latest album Bean features exquisite tracks like "Jailbreak at Doubting Castle," a song that is a true carnival of varying drum patterns, swelling atmospheric sounds, and robot-like noises. The fast and furious punk-like ending of the track is just the type of surprises you can expect in Bean. Gagne flirts with dance music in “A Letter from Bean” and reveals his commitment to having a good time in the recording process. Won Ton Death is drawing appeal from all the places he can find it, and that is excellent. Listen to the entrancing track “Dung” streaming below. – Rene Cobar
