Psychedelic Pop from Stray Planets

Hailing from Dublinn, Stray Planets is the latest project of highly accomplished songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Butler, a name already whispered with reverence among those familiar with the city’s more experimental corners. Known for his prolific streak and fiercely original vision, John has spent years building up a band of unreleased material through projects like Tigers of Tin Pan, while constantly developing his style in the solitude of countless bedroom demos. With Stray Planets, he finally brings that creative storm to light, channelling his idiosyncratic songwriting into a kaleidoscopic world of psychedelic pop and rock.

Underpinned by the deft touch of producer Rian Trench, known for his work with Solar Bears, RÚN and PANIKATAX, Stray Planets takes John’s melodic writing and wrap it in shimmering production. It’s music that drifts through dream logic, threading immersive textures and surreal tones with lyrical flashes of humour, melancholy and the uncanny.

Unveiling the project in 2023, Stray Planets made an entrance with the debut single “Down a Hole up a Hill,” which they’ve since followed up with a string of well-received releases. Tracks like “Messed Up” and “I Liked You Better Before” became cult favourites that captured a sound veering from jangling pop to warped psychedelia while putting Stray Planets on the map of must watch acts on the rise in the Irish music scene and beyond. Now, with the release of his new EP Are You Real, Cristobal Leedy?, John presents the most complete snapshot of the Stray Planets sound.

Across five tracks, the record moves like a lucid dream; sometimes euphoric, sometimes uneasy, but always cinematic while the collaboration with Rian Trench once again proves essential, with production that feels absorbing and intricate. Lifted from the EP, lead single “Hallucinations,” sees John link up with Dara Kiely of Gilla Band on guest vocals, alongside Sinead McConville’s ariry backing harmonies. Thematically, the song recounts the tale of “a woman at the mercy of a faulty AI, as she watches helplessly images of herself be twisted in all kinds of strange ways,” a concept that’s equally unsettling and relevant.

Slowly drifting into focus, the hushed swirl of spacey textures is met by the gentle strums of acoustic guitar as smooth vocal leads glide through the hazy soundscape. Building with the sweep of siren-like synth tones, the track flows with a deft balance of blissful melodic leads, picture painting lyricism and hypnotic aesthetic, softly swelling with the fuzzy surge of instrumental tones before the plod of bass and taps of percussion inject a laid back groove.

As all the elements come together in the finale, the track casts a transportive sound of enveloping textures and mesmeric repeats of “hallucinations” to deliver a truly engrossing close. For an artist long hidden in the shadows of Dublin’s underground, John Butler’s cosmic arrival with Stray Planets has resulted in a spectacular showcase of psych pop that’s sure to win over fans around the world.

Listen to Hallucinations below

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