We’re mid-way through summer, but Denver’s Whiskey Autumn just delivered one of the hottest releases of the year. The genre-blurring alt-rock band has recruited a star-studded team of Denver’s hottest electronic talents to remix their wonderfully strange and exciting psychedelic album, Modern Doubt, which arrived in April of this year. Retrofette, Levi Double U, Corsicana and OptycNerd make up the producer recruits to reimagine the project, dubbed Moderned Out, and the results are as electrifying as you’d expect. Bringing together such a diverse array of talent to rethink the songs of an already engaging listen brings a whole new perspective and emphasis on the power artists have when they join forces.
Whiskey Autumn is a multi-instrumentalist duo comprised of Greg Laut and Jason Paton. Beginning as a solo endeavor when Laut was at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2011, the outfit expanded later in 2016 after Paton, originally recruited into the band as a bassist, meshed so well with Laut that he became a permanent fixture. Following three previous EPs, the newest project, Modern Doubt, paved a way for the outfit to further deepen their roots as a duo and expand their sound palette in the process. Looking at the breakout single from the project, “Let’s Go Sailing Instead” the group breeze by on a lofty guitar-driven track before descending into a grungy solo that muddles the waters of their beachside tune to great results. Five out of the original album’s tracks are given the remix treatment, expanding on that sound — expanding Whiskey Autumn into new territories.
“It’s been a blast to hear the songs from Modern Doubt in an entirely fresh context. The remixers had the full creative freedom to take the songs wherever they wanted. It was surreal listening to each remix for the first time because you can certainly recognize the original song, but it’s dosed with a breath of fresh air that is far removed from the initial production choices I made with my bandmate Jason Paton, ” remarks Laut in reference to the remixed album. “The intent of the Moderned Out project is to highlight the many talents of Denver’s robust music scene and inject new life into these songs, which have been out in the world for a few months. It’s humbling working alongside so many talented individuals and we feel very lucky to be part of such an inclusive local scene.”
OptycNerd opens the new release, lending a hand to make “Birds That Flew” a sun-kissed jam. Elsewhere, Levi Double U turns “Modern Doubt” into a wondrous future bass stomper while Retrofette leads “Let’s go Sailing Instead” into a funky foray. Lastly, “Monochrome Actress” drives to an ethereal bliss by way of Denver’s Corsicana and “The Red Eye” is made into a skittering abstract slow burner with the Escapism Remix. Furthermore, while we’re knee-deep in the dog days of summer, Moderned Out has the tunes to cool you down, and there’ no doubt about that.
You can catch all the aforementioned bands performing at this year’s Underground Music Showcase, this weekend July 26 – 28 along venues on South Broadway. Tickets are available here.