video: Ducktails "House of Mirrors"

"Look to Find Direction But All You See is Your Reflection"

After filling the room with light rays, Matt Mondanile stood up from his loop station, grabbed his guitar and took us to the screened in porch. While Ducktails is known for its loopy take on tropical psych, "House of Mirrors," which is probably the most introspective song in the Ducktails canon, is a particularly solemn existential ballad. It's a standout, not just because its based around a quiet, very-straightforward chord progression, but due to its ability to seep into your psyche and help in the examining of life, love, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "In a house filled with mirrors, it's not easy to see where your going" may feel like an obvious use of the mirror metaphor, and it sure seems that way in retrospect, but without self examination, one would never truly know thyself. It takes a hint, or a house filled with mirrors, in order to delve beneath the surface of everyday existence. It's not easy, and it can be extremely painful, but, like the end of this tune, which finds Matt moving forward and ripping like an everyday Steve Hillage, when one does finally confront the subtle demons, deeply rooted hangups and other mental obstacles, the rest of life is, as Q-Tip said, "strictly butter, strictly butter, baby."