7/10

There's something refreshingly fitting about Tadpoles returning from a twenty-one year hiatus only to immediately start dismantling and reshaping the music that brought them back. And on 'Make Believe (Smoky Remix)', the New York psych-rock collective take the 2025 comeback EP and pull it further into the strange, blurry world it always seemed to suggest.

Across five tracks, the band lean hard into texture, as reverb-soaked vocals, warped synths and loose, freeform arrangements give the release a drifting quality, while flashes of shoegaze, post-punk, grunge and indie-rock keep it from floating away completely. The result feels familiar and disorienting all at the same time.

Opener ‘Something Sparkly (Smoky Remix)’ is an obvious highlight. The track embraces repetition and trance-like momentum, with its psychedelic layers stacking gradually until the song feels like somewhere to disappear into. It sits as an especially strong example of Tadpoles’ ability to turn atmosphere into an entire environment.

Comparisons to Animal Collective and Flaming Lips make sense, particularly in the band’s willingness to let playful, colourful ideas sit alongside something darker. There's wonder throughout this collection, but also unease. The synths can feel cosmic one moment and vaguely threatening the next, while the looseness of the performances prevents anything from becoming too polished or predictable.

Rather than treating 'Make Believe' as a finished chapter, Tadpoles have opened it back up. 'Make Believe (Smoky Remix)' is stranger, hazier and more immersive, proving that their comeback still has plenty of unexplored corners left inside it.