Albums
Ultimate Lovestory Fantasy
2017
Release Date: 2017
By Pitchfork
Reviewed October 24, 2017
From the Dutch producer’s upcoming album, Memories of Cindy
As Palmbomen II, the L.A.-based producer Kai Hugo makes analog house that regularly looks to 1990s ephemera, from rickety new age beats inspired by “The X-Files” to dreamy songs about throwback tropical resorts in the Netherlands. On his new track, “Ultimate Lovestory Fantasy,” from his upcoming record Memories of Cindy, Palmbomen II leans heavily on murky tape deck hiss and woozy static. He’s classified the song as “supernatural house music,” crafted with “haunted hardware,” and the reverb-slathered vocal loops do indeed suggest spectral whispers over wisps of muffled synth pads that float like fog. But when Palmbomen II settles into a satisfying mid-tempo groove, it gives the sputtering instrumental an unexpectedly light, easy-listening feel. Like his past music, “Ultimate Lovestory Fantasy” tastefully embraces the kitsch of his ramshackle hardware, finding emotional resonance and a starry-eyed simplicity all its own.