The Best Kind of Planet

Watch my stopwatch, people. Right now you’re melting into a river of calm hypnosis while waves of round bass and currents of soothing female vocals sweep you away in a magical whirlpool of color and sound. Now the whole thing explodes as a single crash cymbal blows up somewhere nearby, and you’re suddenly drifting at a much faster pace. Your heart’s probably pounding for a second, but then you realize there’s nothing to fear in this new world of Portishead-esque trip-hop, and you begin to enjoy the rapid-fire fills and spills of the entire experience.



There’s a scratch in your ears that you didn’t even notice, but you go with it for lack of control; you’re entranced, under the spell of Cooper Gillespie’s breathy voice as it swells up from beneath like an undercurrent to slow your pulse. But before the calm can become too deeply ingrained, a rich downtempo hip-hop session led by Greg Gordon begins somewhere very close by, and the ride sets off again faster than ever. Beats, raps, keyboards and thick, hearty bass lines hook you in (no, that’s not a bass fishing pun), and then you’re dancing atop a gigantic, groovy wave of diamonds and lights.

Then, out of nowhere, a break. A sudden halt and the sea of sound flatlines, jolting you back to reality as you realize how ridiculously tripped out the last four minutes of your life have been. Holy shit, man, you’re not on a ride at all. You’re listening to Mad Planet, and it fucking rules.

Mad Planet plays at 10 pm Wednesday, Nov. 3, at Luckey’s. 21+. $3.

EW 10/28