James Pants is known for his eccentricity; from the moment he leaped onto the scene, his sound and style were unmistakable. He blends doo-wop, soul, and lounge rhythms efficiently with vocals and synths that fill up hearts and minds with boogie and love. So for his sophomore effort on Stones Throw, entitled Seven Seals, Pants takes on a journey of the formulation of a cult and its track-by-track audible representation.

“Eyes of the Lord,” the opening track, starts up as a very stirring debate between synth and guitar to determine what dominates on the track. It’s actually a prevalent theme in the album as there is always a certain part of the instrumentation climbing for a chance to shine on. The “Seven Seals Theme” and “Thin Moon” are brilliant successors to the previous work of James Pants, one minute bumping and the next waiting for more.

The realm of fantasy is a trip that’s revisited quite a bit on this record, as Pants drops melodies that put is in a zone of euphoric zen; the intro to “Beyond Time” and “Sky Warning” both glimmer gloriously while tracks like “Now, Let Me Brush You” and “Wash To Sea” keep a steady amount of sawtooth to keep beats living between the space of each track. While the album carries out a whacky, funny and fantastical vibe, it’s also a very disjointed but gratifying experience.

In a certain way, all the tracks on Seven Seals, while they aren’t all wholly connected in tempo or mood, are a collective piece of work that is irrevocably a stand-alone project. Pants’s vocals stand out, especially when he doesn’t have to be grand to make an impact, such as in “Not Me” where he is whispering away while percussion and synths drift his voice away into a aggro-frenzied surf rock riff. Some tracks are just very bipolar in nature, as genres are crossed between tempos and vocals, but it’s a cohesive and impressive collection of tracks. Going between so many styles and genres can be risky, but taking that chance to make what one feels is worth the leap of faith. Whatever James Pants is taking should be shared to the world, because this album is only a piece of a process that the world will never know of.

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