4 out of 5

Label: Un Je-Ne-Sais-Quoi

Produced by: Jordi Gegé

J.G.G.’s Bombolla plays, and as it iterates across its short, boppy keyboard funks, you will smile; you will tap your toe. 13 tracks of this, most barely peeking above the 2-minute mark, and each of the same palette but with their own distinct – if limited – melody. It is a video game platformer soundtrack as imagined by someone who’s never used an N64; like Grant Kirkhope didn’t have to worry about level design and, I dunno, also lived in the woods and maybe strictly composed while high. (Maybe that’s how he works already!)

The essence I’m hoping to express: Bombolla is incredibly simplistic, but it’s also very composed; it’s dedicated. These are not just noodlings, but the set also is not one that necessarily has a start and end. It’s truly just like you’ve wandered into a corner of the world that J.G.G. owns, crafting tunes to score his whims – maybe communicating in those tunes as well, and the range here does feel very 90s video gamey – and you can’t help but pause in whatever you’re doing, mesmerized into plopping down, cross-legged, and taking in part of this conversation.

Do you remember “the words?” Are there any songs I can “sing” from Bombolla? No, but it has a definite mood, and that confidence is what bolsters its sing-song nature into something that feels deeper; more spiritual. That the collection is also distinct amongst J.G.G.’s many works (while those that I’ve sampled are conceptually similar, the vibe and instrumentation sound / feel different) speaks to its purposefulness; that its been playing at random points for several days in my speakers very directly speaks to its accessibility and endurance.

While I do think the structure of something like a Grant Kirkhope production would bump this into more impactful territory – it is, ultimately, pretty flighty; just easy to default to when you’d like something equally mindless and mindful – that the recording allows you to just kinda vacation with it and move on without guilt is also a bit of a perk.