Blessed with such a graphic name, it?s no surprise Black Moth Super Rainbow?s music is almost cartoon-esque in places. Like some random ?80s cartoon, Black Moth Super Rainbow fill their albums with tantalizing ear candy. Analogue high speed chases, swirling synths crashing into each other and vocoded vocals all crave for attention in this crowded kaleidoscope of sounds.

?Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods,? officially an EP, is the third effort of this Pennsylvanian collective. Recorded in a cabin out in the woods, they manage to surpass much of the folktronica cheesiness by keeping the energy level up at almost all times. The title track, with which the album opens, feels like a magical trip inside a lava lamp: sketchy drumbeats and vocoded vocals set out its mainframe while inside, distorted synths and crashing gongs make for a jubilant core. ?Caterpillar House? elaborates on the title track?s energy level with cymbal crashes and psychedelic Moogs racing around while the slowed down electronica of ?Algae? hints at the nostalgic sampling Boards Of Canada trade in.

Black Moth Super Rainbow are at their best when they get lost inside their own fantasy. When things slow down, like during ?They Live in the Meadow,? they get closer to folktronicats like Caribou or Four Tet at their most predictable. ?Drippy Eye? gains a lot from its midsection buzzing synth explosion, like opening a bottle of soda without knowing it?s been shaken wildly. ?Flowers Grow Here? is an exception on my faster=better rule proposed earlier. Consisting of a lazy, repeated stoner bass line and mysterious Moog playing, it?s oddly hypnotizing. The most straight forward and commercially appealing track of the album, ?Side B,? boasts a melancholic and recognizable melody that could very well be the soundtrack of The Loveboat of the future.

Clearly Black Moth Super Rainbow aren?t interested in what?s cool and uncool today. They manage to transform a language full of historical tokens into something refreshingly new and mysteriously futuristic. Meanwhile they keep in touch with a lo-fi sensibility which keeps ?Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods? very personal and intimate all the way through. 8/10 -- Joris Heemskerk (27 June, 2006)