Neon Indian

“Hex Girlfriend” is musically extraordinary to listen to. There are so many electronic layers to it that it is very hard not to feel like you hear something new each time you listen to it, it sounds like something from another world and it is better off for it. It’s extremely catchy for something with so many synthetic layers to it. The electronic textures give this song a very Primal Scream “Beautiful Future” era sounding results, this a song of that calibre. It’s hard not to imagine Bobbie Gillespie doing is thing on stage whilst getting high to the music of this song. It could easily be one of his masterpieces, sonically. Although on the other side of the positives it does feel as if there is something missing to give it that extra kick, that extra element to make it stand out and become a hit.

The biggest flaw on this song is that lead singer Alan Palomo just does not cut it vocally on this track. An artist does not need to have the strongest vocals but his vocals are just not distinctive enough to make him stand out from what is a very crowded room. That is perhaps the way that the track is meant to have been produced, but it just sounds like the lyrics and vocals are getting washed out by the amount of sound in this particular song, apart from the chorus of “does it make you feel alright” followed by “Ahhhaaa” it is very hard to even make out what Alan Palomo is saying in the verses. However the lyrics themselves are quite good, they are very simple and are nothing special but they do suite the song and are quite catchy none the less.

What Neon Indian has done to this song is terrific, they have taken a very simple piece of music and added lots of wonderful sounds to it to make it sound much more complex musically than it is. Vocally Palomo is not the most distinct artist in the world but the lyrics are catchy enough to overcome this.

A good solid song that will, no doubt, please their fan base; from a band that is growing musically and in popularity, this is the third single from the album and although not as strong single wise as “Fall Out” or “Polish Girl” it certainly shows this bands talents and gives a good advertisement to the album “Era Extraña”, a must have for any music lover.