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I'm so glad I got this CD at the beginning of our wonderfully sunny weather --- it's been a great accompaniment on my journey to and from work.
From the first track, I was hooked. Great pop songs couched in four-on-the-floor beats with tons of vo-coder and unexpectedly nice harmonies. Those elements appeal to all of my musical preferences simultaneously. The energy these guys have is amazing. In fact, their energy is so infectious that I was dancing around my apartment with shades drawn on the first listen.
Parallels can be drawn to Daft Punk and Junior Senior. Any idiot can see that. But, for me, what separates them from the rest of vo-codered dance/pop is those aforementioned harmonies --- which morph into tongue-in-cheek back-up vocals in "Night Shift". That track makes the daring rhyme "I go up the escalator/I go down the elevator", and endearingly embraces hip-hop's honesty while giving a wink and nod to those who hear sincerity's limitations. I think I laughed out-loud on the first listen.
And there are lots of other grin-inducing lyrics. And did I mention that it's dance music? I mean, you can actually dance to this whole album, and you have the endorsement of the band to not take yourself too seriously while shaking it! Yet, this is also pop music. Be warned.
The songs are well-crafted and, overall, short. Constructed to nestle into your brain. You go for a week without hearing one of their songs and out of nowhere "I've never had it so well..." pops into your head and you smile broadly. I would love to catch these guys live. If they can muster up that sort of energy and maintain it through a whole show, I'm sold --- even if they don't give a shout out to Ballard on "Emerald City". (jeremy.06.04)
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