On a Saturday night in October, Brooklyn Bowl felt less like a music venue and more like a portal to the cosmos. Primed by the opener, Shadow Show, the packed crowd was about to embark on a journey through space and sound, led by a band whose music seems to defy gravity and time itself. Mildlife, the Australian band known for their seamless fusion of jazz, funk, psychedelia, and electronic music, took the stage and instantly transported the packed house to a universe of their own making.

Opening with the title track from their new album, “Chorus,” Mildlife pulled the audience into orbit. The song’s lush arrangement slowly built into an expansive groove, exploratory flute and guitar synth spurred on by a hypnotic bassline. Followed by the bouncing rhythm and warm vocals of “Yourself,” the band artfully set the stage for an immersive experience.

What makes Mildlife so captivating is the intricate layering of sound, seamlessly weaving together a wide range of influences. At Brooklyn Bowl, this alchemy was on full display. The synth-heavy atmospherics, courtesy of Kevin McDowell, floated effortlessly above the driving bass of Tom Shanahan. Jim Rindfleish’s intricate drumming kept everything anchored, holding the band together as they pushed through galaxies of sound.

With each song, the band’s influences shone through, from the improvisational jazz of Sun Ra to the spacey synth explorations of Kraftwerk, all filtered through a prism of modern electronic production. The shimmering notes of “The Magnificent Moon” and psychedelic jazzscape of “Return to Centaurus” led the audience deeper into Mildlife’s surreal musical constellation. McDowell’s synthesizers, reminiscent of vintage 70s sci-fi soundtracks, sent ripples of sound out into the crowd, oscillating between cosmic exploration and danceable precision. From slow, spacey builds to full-throttle, dance-inducing grooves, Mildlife guided the crowd through spaced-out contemplation to head-nodding rhythm without missing a beat.

It wasn’t all interstellar floatiness. “Automatic,” one of the night’s standouts, brought a more driving, danceable energy to the set. The track’s motorik beat had the crowd fully engaged, bodies moving in sync with the rhythm as flashing lights washed over the scene. The balance between their experimental jams and the more structured grooves kept the energy fresh and unpredictable.

Mildlife closed the night with “Vapour,” sealing the cosmic set with funky basslines and vocoder-drenched vocals. As the final notes lingered in the air, the crowd stood, momentarily suspended in time, reluctant to come back down to Earth. But as the lights came up and reality slowly reasserted itself, the collective glow from the crowd was unmistakable.

With their otherworldly grooves and infectious energy, Mildlife gave Brooklyn a night to remember. Their sound wrapped itself around us and didn’t let go. For those few hours, we weren’t just in a music venue; we were somewhere between the stars, floating in the vast expanse of sound they so masterfully created.

Connect with Mildlife on Instagram, Spotify, and their website.