Cut Copy - Free Your Mind

Tired, uptight and unable to stop thinking about work? Is it impossible to get down with the kids these days? Is a warm blanket preferable to a tequila shot? That’s ok. This is perfectly normal. But if it feels like a rut to be stuck in, Cut Copy are here to help. The Melbourne dance enthusiasts have stepped things up a notch. Those shuffling feet are now flailing in the air like gravity’s not even an option.

‘Free Your Mind’ is audio hypnosis. It’s a cocktail of hacienda, modern house and the kind of imagery the CIA might use if America’s ultimate strategy was to achieve ‘good vibes for all’. To help muster this, in order to see the world in vivid ecstasy, what was once an explorative dance sway has now become a sonic assault of rhythmic pianos and Dan Whitford’s vibrant vocals. It’s completely separate to the band’s previous ‘Zonoscope’ and ‘In Ghost Colours’ records. Everything is more hyperactive, euphoria being the absolute goal.

The title-track makes a good start, shamelessly plugging gospel vocals into total, untamed euphoria. A closing duo of ‘Take Me Higher’ and ‘Walking In The Sky’ are more restrained efforts, but the bulk of ‘Free Your Mind’ is pushing its very title to the heavens. There’s no limit.

Occasionally it’ll falter under the weight of its own desire to let loose. ‘We Are Explorers’ carries the same message as the rest of them, but its execution is clunky, its house pulse unshifting. Hypnosis requires at least a smidgen of relaxation in order to reach cooperation and sometimes that doesn’t transfer. It’s forceful, but it’s also doubtlessly aware of the fact. It’s a ‘take it or leave it’ kind of record, but invest in Cut Copy’s deranged aims and it’ll feel like being part of a free-spirited cult.