Elliot James Mulhern and Bipolar Sunshine Send Up the Absurdity of Everyday Mundanity on “I Quite Like It (A Lot)”

Bipolar Sunshine and Elliot James Mulhern, photo courtesy the artists

Elliot James Mulhern and Bipolar Sunshine seem to be hanging out in alleys and near aging office buildings in London in the video for “I Quite Like It (A Lot).” They look disinterested or at least disengaged in contrast to the title of the song. And the song itself finds the two vocalists sounding anything but enthusiastic over a steady beat and minimal synth melody. Yet somehow it works. Like a minimal synth pop song with no small amount of cheek like a Sleaford Mods track but with even less aggression. It’s reminiscent of an old Aphex Twin video but with the colors washed out and the surreal factor comes from the sheer mundane aspect of two guys dressed too well for hanging out in a random location like they’re hitmen in a Guy Ritchie film. And that’s the vibe, the way the grind culture of modern life can leave you feeling a little dissociated in moments when a more engaged reaction is expected and you can even feel all but intellectually disconnected from your desires and motivations until the shock of that realization propels you back into your senses. Watch the video for “I Quite Like It (A Lot)” on YouTube and follow Mulhern at the links below. The new Elliot James Mulhern album Agony of the Never Ending Fantasy became available on vinyl, CD and digital on June 30, 2023.

Elliot James Mulhern on TikTok

Elliot James Mulhern on Facebook

Elliot James Mulhern on Twitter

Elliot James Mulhern on Bandcamp

Elliot James Mulhern on Instagram

elliotjamesmulhern.com

Elliot James Mulhern’s “Again” is Like Cinematic Retrofuturist Ballroom Dream Pop

Elliot James Mulhern, photo courtesy the artist

From the beginning of Elliot James Mulhern’s “Again” it sounds like we’ve been invited into a retrofuturist re-imagining of some kind of spacious ballroom from the 1940s. Or like a chillout room adjacent to The Restaurant at the End of the Universe from the Douglas Adams novel of the same name where there exists a time bubble that seemingly allows access to a broad spectrum of possibilities. The bursting swells of tone, the bright synth tones, Mulhern’s echoing, haunted vocals make for a lo-fi dream pop song that sounds like something that might have been featured in a never before made Hitchcock film or an Orson Welles science fiction vehicle in collaboration with Baz Luhrmann with lush, scintillating sonic dynamics and a sense of hidden personal darkness and romance. Listen to “Again” on Spotify, connect with Mulhern at the links below and look out for the new EP FREE THOUGHTS which released June 5, 2020 and graced with with artwork by George Mager.