Millennium Resorts inhabit a vast sonic space of their own design on their mind-bending cinematic concept album In The Key Of David — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The Austin duo of Scott Raulie and Jonathan Richerson explain successfully blur the lines between complementary subgenres on this trippy release, creating a mind-bending sonic mosaic. Fans of Tame Impala’s hypno-grooves, Pink Floyd’s psychedelic prog rock, M83’s immersive electronic dream pop or My Bloody Valentine’s brooding shoegaze will find plenty to love in this cinematic 10-song release. Producing music that is simultaneously monolithic in its presence and rich with atmosphere, Millennium Resorts constantly build tension and mystique in their work while allowing the listener to choose their own meaning.
“There are several musical themes that intertwine and call back to each other developing through the album all the way up to the end,” they explain. “It really is the old idiom that the sum is greater than the parts. As far as the themes and the story of In The Key of David, I know it’s a cop-out, but that’s up to the listener. No doubt we will get comparisons to cyberpunk and mentions of dystopian themes, which I think is fair, even so this goes way beyond computers and robots, but again, we’ll let the listener interpret.”
Most importantly, this is an album intended as a complete listening experience. “One of the most important aspects of In The Key of David is that it is meant to be listened to from front to back,” they say. “The album was composed and executed as an album. It was never just a song here and there, it was completely outlined before the production started. The entire skeleton of the album from Track 1 to Track 11 was composed on a piano before the recording process started… There’s a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion.”
When they first got together, Raulie and Richerson found that they had a lot in common in terms of what they appreciated most about music — including favourite bands such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd, The Mars Volta and MBV. They wanted to try to create something epic that was more interesting than a lot of the dreampop and shoegaze we hear recently. Their goal: To take the infectious aesthetic and textures of synthwave music and move them in a less repetitive and more engaging and rewarding direction for the listener. Mission accomplished.
Put up the Do Not Disturb sign, heck out In The Key Of David below and check into Millennium Resorts on Twitter and Instagram.
