"Dark (or heavy) lyrics set to happy music" has been STRFKR's thing since day one, and the Portland band's 4th full-length bets down on music you can listen to in headphones and also dance to. Sonically, Being No One, Going Nowhere borrows from Italo and "kosmiche musik," while frontman and principal songwriter Joshua Hodges credits Tony Hoffer (Phoenix, Beck, M83), English writer Alan Watts, and Eastern philosophy as sources of inspiration. From the opener "Tape Machine," which tells a chilling tale of drug addiction over bouncy, mid-tempo synth pop beat, to the title track that closes the album, this 11-tracker is as catchy as it is introspective and as fun as it is emotive. This is the 180g light blue vinyl pressing of the album.

• limited edition
• 180 gram colored vinyl pressing
• digital download included
• music label: Polyvinyl Records 2016

reviewed by kanim 11/2016