Following a triumphant opening salvo of synth lines and thumping kick drum, The Big Pink’s new album Future This shoots you through space on a blast of futuristic electro-rock, but only after a troubled take-off forces it a bit off course.

Early songs like “Hit the Ground (Superman)” are weighed down by studio-polished mainstream aspirations, while “Give It Up” has the kind of sing-along chorus that would gel instantly in the sonic spectrum of an indie-electro minded festival like Coachella. Fortunately, this monotonous pop soon gives way to more sonically-ambitious work.

By mid-album, the engines of The Big Pink spaceship hit full force, and the album escapes into more unexplored territory in tracks like “Rubbernecking” and “Jump Music.”  Bumping bass and spacey, reverb-laden guitars permeate throughout, and each individual sound becomes harder to distinguish.

By the time we’ve reached the title track, singer Robbie Furze is singing of astral planes and the unpredictable future, only to follow it up with the relatively restrained closing number “77.” The listener is given time to reflect here, as Furze longingly sings, “I wish I had 77 ways to say no.” 

Future This is an unpredictable journey. Despite a bumpy take-off, the skillfully-crafted, psychedelically-cluttered soundscapes of tracks like “Jump Music” ensure that the album ends in more fascinating places. (7/10)