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Ohio based dreampop band Placid Cactus release new EP, Circus

Following the release of three promising, ethereal standalone singles, Placid Cactus has released ‘Circus’, – a 3-track, psych-tinged dreampop EP that references a wide range of sounds varying from Cocteau Twins to Crumb, while also offering heavily dynamic arrangements that sporadically rise and fall. ​​This neo-psychedelia album by Placid Cactus is characterized by its preoccupation with atmosphere and sonic texture, including smooth guitar reverb and echo.

The track ‘Deja Vu’, has hesitant melody that floats atop washy guitars and airy synths before breaking into a jam that instrumentalizes the ambiguously-written relationship anxiety in the first half of the song – “I feel it’s time, gotta loosen my mind/wash my face, go get high this time.”

The opening track transitions into the aptly named ‘Hypnosis’, which narrates an anxious mind driving down the freeway in a state of highway hypnosis, diving deep inside a subconscious rabbit-hole.

Describing this track, Mikey says, “Hypnosis represents a narration of the spiraling anxiety of being alone with your thoughts. I often travel back and forth between Columbus, OH and Akron, OH to visit family, which involves a couple hours of mindless driving down the highway. I usually find myself deep in a state of what’s called highway hypnosis, which is when your mind wanders off while driving for a long period of time. It’s in these times that I dig into my subconscious, which can sometimes produce overwhelming and anxiety-inducing thoughts about everything from real-world issues to things I’ve made up in my mind. So this song is kind of about the ebb and flow of those periods, where something seemingly so relaxing and mindless turns into a swirl of doubt and confusion, then back to confidence and certainty, then back to doubt, etc.”

Finally, the EP’s title track, ‘Circus’, presents a more groove-driven vibe before breaking into all out chaos in the first chorus, representing the juggling of various relationships and guilt associated with failing to find a balance. Each track contributes to the overarching theme of anxiety and maneuvering through it in the modern world, which can often feel like a Circus.

About his approach to song production, he shares, “In all of my music I try to produce in such a way that the instrumental is just as much of a conduit of emotion as the lyrics/melodies. I think in this one there are a lot of dynamic ups and downs that help represent what happens in my head on drives down the highway.”

Artist bio

Placid Cactus is the moniker of Columbus, Ohio-based musician Mikey Recupero. Before recording as Placid Cactus, Mikey played with a number of local college bands while still training his own production chops. Towards the end of 2019, he began to work heavily with psych- vet and friend Adam Thein (Djo, Post Animal, Slow Pulp) by employing his mixing abilities, and was introduced to Dalton Allison (Post Animal) who has helped throughout the past two years and also mastered the EP. Mikey treats the project as a band, handling the recording, arrangement, and production of everything from the drums to the vocals, and records each element in chunks of time as if it was being recorded in a studio with an entire band.

HyperURL to follow Placid Cactus – http://hyperurl.co/j66qbo

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