Mister and Mississippi’s Third LP ‘Mirage’ employs a darker, heavier undercurrent of synths, bass and drums lurking beneath the group’s well-established sonorous majesty and crisp vocals. There’s a more ominous, acidic punch to the music’s structure, dynamics and growth, marking a radical stylistic shift from the palliative, simmering indie folk prevalent on Mister and Mississippi’s previous two albums. ‘Mirage’ finds the band avidly reinventing themselves in both arrangement and production, poised to become one of the more eye-opening entries of 2017.

There are moments on ‘Mirage’ where the frigid, gloomy swells of 80s new wave and electropop shrewdly loom. Other times, the album lives up to its name, shifting towards a more transparent, limpid sound pallette without feeling contrived, predictable or tacky. Within Mister and Mississippi’s body of work, ‘Mirage’ isn’t exactly a new chapter of an age old tale, but a new storybook in its entirety. The group’s decisively changed modus operandi also affected their riveting live performances. Look for Mister and Mississippi to flex their muscles with heavier riptides of sound and put greater emphasis on powerful, dynamic visuals to boot.