Hideous Men

“Holodeck” begins this initial offering from experimental electronic project Hideous Men with cycling low-end white noise to suggest the thrum of distant interstellar engines. But in short order, a gently executed mixture of neo-tribal rhythms and tropical pop weaves layers on top of and within each other. The resulting three-dimensional sound informs all four songs on this EP. Kristi Schaefer’s voice wanders between and around the stream of noises for an effect like a young girl on a merry-go-round. In fact, there is a slowly spinning, cyclical aesthetic to how the various percussive, melodic and droning elements are employed throughout. The appropriately titled “Dreamscene” begins much like the Human League classic “Being Boiled” but evolves into a place of existential peace rather than darkness.