Austin – Officially, Mystery Skulls is a product of Los Angeles. It’s where he calls home, and it’s where his career has taken off. But he was proud to tout his Texas upbringing to a packed house at Stubb’s last Friday night. Unsurprisingly, he was well received: we love a hometown hero.
In fact Mystery Skulls, real name Luis Dubuc, is from a lot of places. Born in rural Venezuela, raised in Texas, made famous in LA, and happy to call all of them home. While it’s not as though his music is a mix of Willie Nelson, joropo and Anthony Kiedis, you can still hear the same kind of big-tent, all-are-welcome attitude in his music. EDM fans will certainly appreciate his house derived beats, and fans of The Knocks will appreciate the disco arrangement, but it’s probably more useful to describe these songs in terms of intent: Mystery Skulls wants to throw the world’s biggest, happiest dance party. The logistics are still tricky, but the songs are up to that task.
But let’s not gush too much—he’s got great help on Forever, last year’s debut album and the primary source for most of his set at Stubb’s. Most strikingly from Nile Rodgers and Brandy, two top-of-bill names that cap off nostalgic feeling conveyed on this record. Rodgers’ especially seems to have left fingerprints everywhere—though probably only because he literally invented the disco guitar sound that carries the hooks for most of these songs. But on “Magic” and “Number 1,” where he’s featured along with Brandy, his presence is unmistakable. The bass is the only thing hinting that “Magic” isn’t from 1978, and “Number 1” offers no such clues—for all we know Rodgers has been saving this up since the Carter administration. Having said that, it’s not like Dubuc is chopped liver here. His falsetto crooning is part of what dates these songs so deceptively. Less expected is his phenomenal chemistry with Brandy. Her vocal delivery is good on its own—tranquil, easy, confident—but the contrast with Dubuc’s more eager tenor gives this lover’s dialogue surprising depth.
He doesn’t flag much when Brandy and Rodgers depart. Besides being one of the better songs on the record, “Paralyzed” shows more clearly what Dubuc’s talents are. Whereas his collaborations with Rodgers were disco all the way through, “Paralyzed” brings the loud, synthetic, minor key bass lines of 80’s car chase music (think Kavinsky without the weird ghost-car subplot). Contrary to Rodgers aesthetics and conventional wisdom, the melody is in a supporting role here, enhancing the sense of chaos with screechy drones or unexpected interludes of prettiness. Similar praise could go to “Hellbent,” except that it features Snowblood. Whatever that contribution might have been you still get the sense this is mostly Dubuc, and he deserves praise for where he put it in the playlist. Of all the material from Forever, none would have worked as well for an early-set warmup as the arpeggiated bass lines from “Hellbent.”
If Mystery Skulls had anything left to prove, it would be his flexibility as a songwriter. He acquits himself somewhat with “Every Note,” a bass-centric slow jam offset by Dubuc’s falsetto. Ultimately this music is meant for more or less the same setting as the rest of this record—live, loud, surrounded by friends—but it’s the surprising intensity that really answers any questions about his long-term prospects. It’s a teasing suggestion that this artist has much more to offer, including, hopefully much longer sets—at Stubb’s he seemed to finish almost as soon as the photo pit closed.
That aside, this show comes highly recommended. Mystery Skulls will be touring his perfectly summertime music through mid May, with a few dates in June and July as well. Maybe more exciting, for us at least, is the interview we snagged with Dubuc before his Stubb’s set. You can read it here.
Photo of Mystery Skulls by Sarah McColgan
Will Jukes
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