By Kyle Arbiola

If you are a fan of piano synthesizers and funky bass lines with a hint of guitar then Mild High Club is the band for you. Hailing from beautiful Los Angeles, California, this slacker rock band is lead by front-man Alex Brettin. He grew up playing the flute and studied jazz during his time in college. As time went by, in 2012, he signed and collaborated with the lovely people at Stones Throw, the same label that the legendary J Dilla and Madlib were apart of. The band is composed of Alex on guitar and vocals and other random band members that fill in whenever they’re needed. For instance, not every show they play will have the same members.”It’s just kind of a collective of homies that are interested in the same kind of music…”, says Alex.  Their sound can be described as psychedelic rock although they have embraced the term “slack funk psychedelia”. If you are into artists like Mac Demarco or Homeshake, then surely you will enjoy the Mild High Club.

Skiptracing, their sophomore album, was released just last month, August 26th to be exact. The album is an eleven track collage of musical goodness. With a small running time of thirty minutes, it will leave you craving for even more groovy rhythms and light-hearted melodies. The album starts off with the track title, Skiptracing, which has a chorus that will fill your ear caves with happiness. Skiptracing (Reprise) is the last track on the album and it is just a thirty-three second instrumental with what seems to be a tuba, a flute, bells, and urban background noise. Their debut album, Timeline was also a magnificent piece of art with songs like Windowpane and Weeping Willow as well as the Beatles inspired Undeniable. The story or theme behind Timeline was Alex’s fascination with social media and how it is amazing that the new generation will never experience life without the internet. Skiptracing’s story arc is supposed to be a ,”…private investigator attempting to trace the steps of the sound and the spirit of American music.” Hence the term “skip tracing” as it is the name of the album.

You should definitely check out Mild High Club if you’re looking to groove out with some of your closest friends. Listen to it while you do the dishes or put it on repeat while you are working on your homework. If you don’t listen to this type of music try to approach it with an open mind, who knows—maybe you’ll like it and it will open the door to a vast, new world of amazing music.