Mint Pillow II
While quarantine has put a halt to live performances for now, it’s put artists in gear to release their studio work. Mint Pillow – a.k.a. Derek Hixon – has been a regular fixture at Cambridge’s State Park for the last five years, DJing the restaurant’s Thursday nights, as well as a slew of other venues in the area. Hixon also makes up half of the guitar/synth duo Iron Elbows. Recently, he featured on A Very Allston Christmas Vol. 5, put together by Disposable America and Allston Pudding, with a funky spoken word track called “It’s Christmas Time.”
As for DJ sets, he’s been regularly posting his sessions on Mixcloud, as well as hosting a Sunday morning live stream on Twitch. But when it comes to releasing collected material, Mint Pillow is dropping his second EP – the self-titled Mint Pillow II – on April 28th, premiering it here on Allston Pudding. The EP is a strong effort that showcases the producer’s skills with synthesizers and beat making.
Mint Pillow by Kris Chandler
Album opener “God Carpet” feels like a hi-res redux of an old Gameboy adventure game – one with fuzzy 8-bit sounds and a lot of fun cave puzzles – while also subverting the listener’s expectations of tempo via a beat switch halfway through and delivering a dance floor rhythm. Throughout the EP, Mint Pillow milks moments like these to keep you on your toes, showcasing not just some adept familiarity with the gear he uses, but also with the way he plans and structures tracks. There’s also a variety to each track that keeps them fresh upon second listens. On paper, you might not think the psychedelic guitar licks and chill drum breaks of “It Did” would mesh as well as they do with 80s synthwave glee of “Dinks.” But that’s a lesson of good execution: there’s no on-paper plan, and what works in the ear gets final say.
As Mint Pillow II flows through each track, there’s this beautiful climax on “Summorial (COVID Cut),” an ambient, jazzy track with a saxophone line that hangs majestically like a warm glowing wisp of light in the dark. It’s a grounding force on a track that’s layered with subtle, often chaotic percussion sounds that hit when you’re not ready for them.
Listen to Mint Pillow II below via bandcamp