Infected Mushroom is a staple in the psy-trance community, and with their latest effort, they take a different tactic to try to introduce people to the unique sound of the genre. This is one of my first experiences with the genre, and while I’m not quite sure what I expected, the strangely dark sound grew on me slowly. There are a few things that I appreciate about the album but, admittedly, my frame of reference is sadly lacking. For a first experience, you could do a whole hell of a lot worse and it piqued my interest in a way that I definitely didn’t expect.

As is obvious by the genre Return to the Sauce makes for fantastic background music, twisting and thumping along while you try to work on something else. In a way, it is a lot like high tempo piano music, amazing for acting as a barrier between you and the world while you work. And I work a lot, so this 70 minute long mix has been playing in the background since it came out. The rapid pace and lack of lyrics make it perfect for pushing you through a stack of work without ever realizing you were doing it. It lives up to its trance labeling in a big way.

The first two songs serve as a quick primer, substantially slower-paced and less “dirty”. As the tracks progress, it slowly eases you into the meat of the album so as not to overwhelm you. Once it does get going, it does so in a big way, humming along almost sinisterly as electronic vocals buzz in the background. They did something really interesting here with the vocals, and instead of being bog standard, washed-out EDM vocals, they converted the lyrics into beats. It is a strange sound, oddly human while at the same time being extraordinarily alien. It fits in well with the darker tone of the album.

Unfortunately, the greatest strength of this album is also its greatest weakness. It is a great trance album, but with this comes a lack of anything in particular sticking out. It coasts for the majority of its run time and all blends together into a big ball of sound. It is what keeps the album from being any better than it is. It’s an album, but by virtue of its genre, it fails to be remarkable.

3.5/5

Tracklist:
1. Flaming
2. Manipulator
3. Return to the Sauce
4. Groove Attack
5. Gravity Waves (Infected Mushroom 2017 Remix)
6. Demons of Pain (Remix)
7. Milosh
8. Nutmeg
9. Liquid Smoke
10. Return to the Sauce (Continuous Mix)

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Tags: Infected Mushroom, Trance