Pillar Point - Marble Mouth (2016)

Recorded at of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes' home studio in Athens, Georgia -- alongside such guest musicians as drummer Cameron Gardner (Washed Out) and percussionist Philip Mayer (Kishi Bashi). Mixed by Drew Vandenberg (Toro Y Moi, Deerhunter, of Montreal) — Marble Mouth speaks for itself as loudly as the records Scott Reitherman blasted in his childhood bedroom, from the twitchy post-punk of Talking Heads to the Top 40 takeovers of Michael and Janet Jackson. It's more than a mere nostalgia trip, however; much like the red-blooded dance party that is Pillar Point's live show, Marble Mouth is a therapeutic sweat lodge of bold drum beats and lean synth lines that layer and wrap each song in kinetic skeletons. Featuring a hybrid approach to the presentation of its heavyweight pop hooks, the album plants one foot firmly in the '80s, with the other exploring the outer realm of ultramodern electronic music. Meanwhile, sun-baked samples and vapor-trailed verses allude to everything from LCD Soundsystem to Broadcast, with Pillar Point's surface-level gravitas hiding in plain sight, as sharp as ever.