L A-based polymath Joe Wong is the soundtrack composer for Netflix series Russian Doll and also the host of the music podcast The Trap Set. He’s evidently made a few friends along the way, as his debut LP of conventional songs is assisted by Ex Hex/Helium guitarist Mary Timony, a 16-piece orchestra and guest appearances from the likes of Flaming Lips’ Steven Drozd and War On Drugs’ Jon Natchez. More impressive still is the psychedelic soundscape he’s created with the help of Lips producer Dave Fridmann.
The sumptuous symphonic psychdrama of Always Alone echoes David Axelrod-era Electric Prunes while the title track’s transcendent horn sections float up on clouds of chamber pop bliss as Wong channels an echo-drenched, Lee Hazlewood-lite baritone. Even if there’s the occasional sense of it being a retro studio experiment, Nite Creatures is still a gorgeous, if lysergically tinged experience.
At the heart of it all are deceptively simple songs such as the floaty meditations Minor and Sleeping. ‘Always dreaming in fours,’ he croons on the latter track, ‘your eyes cannot see.’ Maybe, but our ears are thoroughly charmed.