The Earthlings (album release), Lunar Ticks, Pink Halo

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courtesy The Earthlings

A collage of the members of The Earthlings, 2022.

The Earthlings

If there is one constant in the music created by Madison-area psych rock collective The Earthlings since forming in 2010, it's a willingness to experiment and explore new sonic territory. At this show the group will unveil their seventh full-length album, Terra Obscura; a reinvented sound is heralded by the lead single, "I Had to Do It (for Myself)," an extended synth-pop jam that is eminently danceable while maintaining the group's laid-back grooviness and musical eclecticism. With Pink Halo, Lunar Ticks.

$15 ($10 adv.).

media release: When you've been a band for 10 years, you have to find ways to keep it fresh. With their seventh studio album, Terra Obscura, The Earthlings have done just that. The standard rock band instrumentation was swapped for an amalgam of drum machines, aux percussion, keyboards, and effected guitar and bass. Grant Blaschka, the newest addition to the band, propels the electronic grooves with synth-like tones and snappy bass lines while the melodious layering of sibling trio Elliott, Noah, and Megan Gilfillan (aka Meggie Shays), inject the songs with impressionistic vocal harmony.

Additional vocals by Hannah Larson (of recently hiatus-ed Bird's Eye) adds yet another layer of choral texture to a number of the tracks. Radiating charisma and energy, Chuckie Brown mixes both electric and acoustic drums to thunderous effect. In addition, Neil Barhite’s strings are by turns cinematic and groovy, complimenting the evocative synth melodies of Noah and Elliott Gilfillan. The Earthlings combine these elements in a package that expertly tows the line between chaos and contemplation. The music of Terra Obscura is catchy, it's groovy, it's bedlam, and it's impossible not to dance to.

Recorded at Audio for the Arts, where Keyboardist/vocalist Noah Gilfillan works as an engineer, Terra Obscura finds the balance of spontaneous live performance and studio magic. After live tracks were laid down by the band as a unit, production flair would be added atop this bedrock of spontaneity. 12 string slide guitar through tape delay, triple tracked penny whistle, plastic trombone, and grand piano through a 70's spring reverb are among the sonic embellishments that steer dancey pop jams into the experimental realm.

Slow burns along the lines of Sigur Ros evolve into trance anthems that would please even the most die-hard ravers. The single from the album, "I Had to Do it (For Myself)", starts out with casio keyboard loops and xylophone and builds to a raucous, earwormy climax, with the titular lyric being sung in a round reminiscent of The Beach Boys.

Since the band's reinvention in 2021, the new life that emits from the music reflects on the stage. Solidifying their long standing reputation as one of the most energetic and eclectic bands of Madison, The Earthlings were the winners of Summercamp Music Festival’s “On The Road Tour” competition in the spring of this year. The release party at The High Noon Saloon on August 6th will feature the up and coming local synth pop band, Pink Halo, and Chicago-based alt jam band, Lunar Ticks.