The Midwest excoticism movement has spread to Minneapolis. The trio making up Food Pyramid are on a motorik train to Tangiers by way of Germany on their full length debut Mango Sunrise. The sprawling explorations within the record indicate they took the long way through Istanbul, Egypt and Tunisia, rather than towards Spain and boating across the Strait of Gibralter.
Opener “Mango Sunrise” is krautrock by the numbers, and there's nothing wrong with that. Its pristine glisten invites us in with open arms, so that by “Orange Alert” we're not afraid to hang around in an underground Instanbul bar, listening to psych rock and tolerating the behavior of Lynchian weirdos. Operating somewhere between Peaking Lights and Dam Funk, “Oh Mercy” is a silence broken as someone finally declares “oh, baby have mercy on me”. It's a hyper-dub excursion with plenty of LA low rider synth and thump.
By “The Thief” Food Pyramid loosen the grip with an ambient piece, as though its a dance workout record and “The Thief” is a mid-album cool down session. “Burger Night” (Version) slips into a dub-futurism vibe that mellows things even further into an opiate-enduced cool, while “I Know What I Saw” smashes through an African riddum that scoots the train into full steam mode. By “Extender” Food Pyramid are on a hill in Tangiers, belting sounds into the night. The trio have exhausted all its explorations in sound and leave us with the bursting feedback of wailing guitars and ethereal saxophones.
Moon Glyph's sterling record remains intact with Mango Sunrise, as the label continues to offer releases well beyond the expectations of its chilly northern home.
Food Pyramid's Mango Sunrise is out now on Moon Glyph.
