REVIEW: Elektragaaz — Armadas of the Milky Way (SINGLE)

At first feeling like a progressive reimagining of some classical composition, there are never any doubts as to whether or not we’re listening to something a bit more sophisticated than the average pop single is in the new track “Armadas of the Milky Way” by Elektragaaz. Where a lot of this act’s competitors have seen fit to draw inspiration from the minimalist movement in the American and British undergrounds over the past few years, Elektragaaz is doing the exact opposite in this song and rejecting the very notion of efficiency in the name of embracing everything that indulgence and willful excess has to offer, which makes some of the track’s most profound moments all the more enamoring to those unfamiliar with this kind of aesthetic.

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While there’s something to be said about the insularity of an underground scene, “Armadas of the Milky Way” opens up compositional wit from a previously guarded realm of indie politics, and there’s no debating how well this goes over for the musicians responsible for giving it life in the first place. To me, this might be the best content we’ve received from this source thus far.

Conceptualism is everywhere right now, but in terms of those who are using it with a purpose, “Armadas of the Milky Way” feels like a track destined to highlight a rare breed of players today. They’re attacking the framework of the piece with epic precision, but even the bluntly synthetic elements in the mix feel unforced and organic in the grander scheme of things.

Despite the numerous changes to the tempo and the construction of the melodic foundation in this song, there aren’t many moments where continuity is evading Elektragaaz; contrarily, this has got to be one of the more fluid works of its kind to land on my desk in the past year or so. Lyrics never would have been able to capture what the melodic underpinning of the instrumentation in this performance is expressing to us, and despite the longer length of the single — which clocks in at nearly nine minutes in total — there isn’t a bloated portion of the song to be found. This is immersive pop songwriting, and it’s coming from an entity that isn’t getting nearly enough focus from the American press at the moment.

If you weren’t already listening to the magic Elektragaaz has been dreaming up from within the recording studio, there’s a good chance you’re going to start following their story after you listen to what they can do in “Armadas of the Milky Way.” For those who are a little more puritanical about their electronica, this might not be the most promising offer — but listeners who are demanding something that bears its intricacies for all to enjoy are going to laud this single for its intensely unique elements, some of which are already getting Elektragaaz more praise from critics than they’ve ever received before. Time will soon tell, but I believe this to be a genuine peak for this act and its artistry.

Colin Jordan