MAX
This week: “Acid Dreams” by MAX & Felly (Colour Vision Records, 2019)
Why we’re into it: MAX’s sound has always been upbeat, but “Acid Dreams” finally puts that energy into a track that’s both for the dance floor and a picnic in the park.
MAX’s music is defined by its smoothness. Maybe it’s his vocals—which occupy the range known as the mid- to low-Bruno Marses—or maybe it’s his dedication to incorporating leisurely beats that never make you feel overwhelmed. Whatever it is, MAX has never deviated from it.
The Woodstock-raised Max Schneider first pinged the radar with features on “Did You Wrong” and “Savage“—which were more heavy electronic tracks. His voice added a new dimension to these tracks; it didn’t sound like some post-production add-on. It stood on its own against more hardcore electronic sounds. Then Schneider dropped out rotation and out of mind.
And then came “Worship”—still one of his best tracks to date. Schneider had found his range and his sound.
His predecessor to “Acid Dreams,” the Quinn XCII collaboration “Love Me Less,” was a keyboard-filled track about the fear that often comes with being honest about your past to a loved one. But MAX got lost in the song, the background often overpowering the vocals that make his serenading voice so magnetic—which was odd, seeing as how he’s held his own in the past.
“Acid Dreams” reclaims that serenading high range MAX explores so wonderfully. As soon as the song kicks off, there are these subtle moments of vocalization in which he almost hums the title of the song before launching into the first verse. “Deja vu like we done this once/It’s crazy, yeah,” he articulates, sounding carefree. And when the chorus hits, that’s where Schneider finds himself. The trumpets in the back give the song that danceable tone, and there’s an in-and-out beat that give the proceedings a summer-in-the-park vibe.
Groovy and intimate, “Acid Dreams” is MAX at his best: carefree and sexy—the kind of summer vibes we all could use a little more of.
