Mildlife Chorus

Mildlife expand the already widescreen parameters of their entrancing jazz-funk fusion on this third studio album. Chorus sees the ARIA-winning Melbourne quartet deepen the cosmic undertones of 2020’s Automatic while further exploring the intuitive riches of improvisation. The result is a profound meeting of musical minds between vocalist and synth player Kevin McDowell, guitarist Adam Halliwell, bassist Tom Shanahan and percussionist Jim Rindfleish. Aptly titled opener “Forever” takes its sweet time adding new layers, starting with prominent bass, hand drums and falsetto before the arrival of a big moony synth lead and later some trippy vocoder. There’s no sense of any rush on this record, with “Sunrise” unfolding like slo-mo stadium disco and two tracks even cracking the nine-minute mark. Those mini-marathons—the flute-flecked title track and prog-leaning closer “Return to Centaurus”—rank among the most satisfying stretches here, as the four players lock into a shared groove and feel things out with a sense of confidence that’s all too well-deserved.