Michelle Shiers on June 29th, 2015

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Dutch multi-instrumentalist Jacco Gardner engages in some trippy psychedelia on his sophomore album “Hypnophobia,” released last month on Polyvinyl records. Once again, having recorded “Hypnophobia” in a  village 30 miles north of Amsterdam, Gardner has created a lucid dream state for us to twirl around in together with his 1960s-infused baroque-pop. Album track “Find Yourself” carries kaleidoscopic melody beneath featherweight vocals that hypnotize as the listener lazily peeks though Gardner’s looking-glass. He plays all the parts on his tracks except for drums, and unsurprisingly works with some vintage instruments to hone in on his own reality: an antique Steinway upright piano, a Wurlitzer electric piano, harpsichords, mellotrons, and an Optigan. Together, all these tools help to create his signature soundscape – a detail-oriented and lush trance of multi-layered consciousness and swirling understated rhythms. He knows just how to add to the genre without simply emulating it and with lyrics like “Don’t fight the feeling/just let it in/You know you need it like the sunlight on your skin”, “Find Yourself” feels like a favorite pair of retro jeans — a bit washed out and perfect for dazed afternoons.

||| Stream: “Find Yourself” and “You Have The Key (That Opens The Door)”

||| Live: Jacco Gardner performs Tuesday night at the Echo along with Calvin Love. He also plays tonight at the Wayfarer in Costa Mesa.