The layered melodies in foreground and background throughout Mystic Toad’s synthpop single “Hyperreal” create a soothing dynamic as each is deeply rhythmic but gentle. In the music video the singer strolls about an incoming tide after sunset but looking and sounding like his is awash in a spirit of acceptance and letting any of the anxieties of life go out with the waves. There is a bitter sweet aspect of the song like that acceptance includes letting go of attachments and assumptions about the way things are and how they should be as building blocks of one’s identity because they’re getting in the way of living. Toward the end of the song the subtle bass line seems to become more accented and reveals itself to be the guiding force of the song’s drifty flow like it’s the lifeline that makes it possible to keep focused on the essentials without being tied to no longer useful notions of what those might be. Watch the video for “Hyperreal” on YouTube and follow Mystic Toad at the links below. The new Mystic Toad album World of Destruction dropped August 15, 2024.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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