Fractals

Mothman and The Thunderbirds are back and soaring to new heights on their sophomore album Portal Hopper. This new installment is a concept album that sees the band melding elements of prog metal and dream pop.

The central theme of the album is escapism, and the eventual escape from escapism. The 12 tracks follow the eponymous portal hopper’s journey out of the natural world and into a series of surreal worlds accessible only by portal. Being granted access to the portals by the dubious Flatwoods Monster, the portal hopper meets a variety of cryptids in these strange lands. The hopper’s journey eventually leads to the Squonk Kingdom, where homely creatures hold access to the only space station able to reach the Akashic Records, a compendium of all knowledge past, present, and future. Overwhelmed with the burden of infinite knowledge and a finite mortality, the portal hopper journeys back to the natural world to make peace with an earthbound fate, but must face the Flatwoods Monster in battle to gain freedom.

Portal Hopper is an eclectic mix of adventurous prog, thrilling hard rock, and dreamy psychedelia. Whether it’s the anthemic “Ruby Skies” and “Polygonal Polliwog”, the shoegaze-inspired “Liminal Spacetime Continuum”, the astral funk of “Fractals”, the whimsy of “Squonk Kingdom”, the folksy bounce of “Somewhere In Time”, or the bizarre yet irresistible “So Long (Portal Hopper)”, Portal Hopper is an album that will keep the listener on their toes while maintaining a strong sense of cohesion.