An instrumental band putting out their 8th studio album must have some tricks up their sleeve. Lotus is showing no signs of slowing down, and with Gilded Age, they show that they’re just as creative and genre-meltingly strong as their listeners have come to expect.

Gilded Age opens up with skittering synths that become washed in steady, feel-good rhythm rolls, before introducing an upbeat, Vampire Weekend-esque vocal melody about reminiscence. The album’s liner notes on bandcamp describe it as an experiment in nostalgia, and rightly so. The first half of Gilded Age is comprised of natural instruments only – guitar, bass, piano, drums, percussion, and horns, played and recorded live. This step towards traditional musicianship is, ironically, a step forward for Lotus. Known for their intense electro-rock jam prowess, they’ve instead moved back from the electronic wizardry to a cleaner, more organic sound.

Musically, the songs retain Lotus’s sense of placement in melody, relying on a rock solid rhythm section to create sturdy structures, and interweaving lead instrument lines around them like ribbons around pillars. The title track in particular shows off their brand of psychedelic rock with a direct, purposeful tone. “I Want It All (To Give It Away)” is a beautiful, piano-laden track that hints at post-rock influences like Broken Social Scene.

Gilded Age would have been a great jam-fusion album if it ended after the first 6 tracks. Always one to surprise, though, Lotus didn’t stop there: the second half of the album is made up of remixes of the first half, showing that they’re still just as adept at achieving digital grooviness. The second half of the album is evocative of Radiohead’s TKOL RMX 1234567; the difference here is that for Radiohead, the remixes were the experiment, whereas for Lotus, they’re the familiar ground that reassures us afterwards. Listening to each song and its remixed counterpart is a thought-provoking way to go through the album, but each half is strong enough to stand as its own collection of music.

As their third studio album in three years, Gilded Age is a testament to Lotus’s ability to keep pushing forward. Of course, they shine the brightest in a live setting, so if the album sounds this good, there’s no doubt that they’ll be melting minds across the nation on tour. It’s probably a good idea to get tickets now.

Gilded Age is available to stream below:

-Asher Meerovich (@Bummertime