Museum Musica

USA, 2013, art pop / progressive pop

Kishi Bashi – Philosophize! Chemicalize! EP: At nine tracks, this is a rather long EP, but three of the tracks are covers brilliantly done: “This Must Be the Place” by Talking Heads, “A Sunday Smile” by Beirut, and “Twilight” by Electric Light Orchestra (and Mr. Ishibashi shows sense to include “Prologue”). The other six tracks are pure Kishi Bashi in all their beauty, creativity, and, surprisingly, sadness. This EP swings from the dark humor of “Unicorns Die When You Leave” (spoiler: he murders the unicorn) and the death-bed regret of “Conversations at the End of the World”, wherein Kishi Bashi uses a breathing machine as part of the musical fabric of the track.