Let’s get one thing straight. Sacha Mullin has been grinding in the Chicago music scene for over two decades. He just swept the Chicago Reader’s “Best Pop Artist” and “Best Music Teacher” awards. Now, he’s back with his fourth solo album, Social Touch, and it’s a record that proves he’s not interested in playing it safe.
Produced by William Parker Wood and put out through Dipterid Records, this album is a massive shift. Mullin is taking his deeply experimental background and channelling it straight into a pop-forward project. But don’t let the word “pop” fool you. This isn’t glossy, factory-made radio filler. Mullin built his career on jazz, rock, and avant-garde weirdness, and all of that DNA is still baked into these tracks. It’s a record that has the immediate hooks of George Michael and the theatrical, soaring energy of Kate Bush, but it still hits with the raw, emotional weight of a Jeff Buckley record.
The guy has a resume that reads like a fever dream. He started doing professional studio work at fifteen, recording vocals remotely for projects in Japan. Since then, he’s worked with everyone from Bobby McFerrin and Cory Wong to playing shows with Lightning Bolt and Kayo Dot. The late, great Julee Cruise called his voice “a real jewel.” That’s not hype. That’s a fact. And you can hear that jewel shining all over Social Touch.
The album kicks off with “Joy“, setting a tone before moving into the propulsive premier single “Hypocenter“. That track features returning collaborator Emily Bindiger, who has worked with Leonard Cohen and Cowboy Bebop. It’s a dense, driving cut that shows exactly where Mullin is taking his sound. The physical release of the single even included a killer B-side—a cover of Alexz Johnson’s “Voodoo“, recorded specifically because her fan club asked for it to celebrate the album’s fifteenth anniversary. That’s the kind of deep connection he has with his audience.
Then you’ve got “Bed All Day“. It’s a moody, infectious track that got the remix treatment from Chicago artist DJ Zeetus Lapetus, who turned it into a “space disco” banger. The tracklist flows from there through cuts like “Mime“, the title track “Social Touch“, “Tears Into Platinum“, and “Odd Radio Circle“. It’s a tight, cohesive record that never gets boring because Mullin refuses to stay in one lane.
If you grab the CD or digital version, you get two bonus tracks that aren’t on the vinyl: “Let’s Cruise” and “Tall Ask“. The digital edition also throws in a remix of “Tears Into Platinum” by producer William Parker Wood. It’s a full package, giving fans plenty of reasons to dig in.
Mullin has always treated his albums as distinct creative environments. His previous records—Whelm in 2013, Duplex in 2017, and Casino Wilderness Period in 2023—all sounded different, and Social Touch is no exception. It’s a new chapter.
He’s also a dedicated teacher, sharing his knowledge at places like Columbia College Chicago and Walter Payton College Prep. You can hear that depth of understanding in the arrangements here—everything is deliberate, but it never feels stiff or academic. It just rocks.
Social Touch is out now. If you want a record that balances pop hooks with raw, human emotion, this is it. Give it a spin.