For fifteen years Electric Bird Noise (aka Brian Lea McKenzie) has been impossible to pigeonhole as anything besides the loose self-description of cinematic soundscapes. Desert Jelly abandons Electric Bird Noise’s cascading guitar walls & all other expectations & trades them in for synthesizers & pop sensibilities. When the sessions for a southern rock band fell apart after booking a month in Brian Lea McKenzie’s studio, instead of scrambling to find bands to fill the month, he spent the time writing an album built around a Sequential Circuits Prophet T8. The album wears on its sleeve the influences of the bands from the era of the synthesizer’s construction thirty years ago; bands like New Order, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, & Gary Numan. Songs like “Dunebuggy” & “Peter Hook” could easily fit in on any 80s dance night & “Desert Jelly” & “As the Glitter Glows” could be tracks from a Brian Eno or Todd Rundgren record, while other songs would fit better on experimental or industrial records. This is the first Electric Bird Noise album with discernable vocals, with long time touring companion Brian John Mitchell (Remora) crooning on three tracks about crashed astronauts while house cats Pants & Sake take advantage of an autotuner on “Pants and Sake Take The Neighborhood.” Desert Jelly is a journey of fun & nostalgia for those old enough to remember & immediately accessible to the newcomer. Press play & dance until your tears dry off.