The Weekly Froth #6

Tangled by C.O.M.B.I.

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Track of the week

Tangled by C.O.M.B.I.

Oh, it’s always such a nuisance when you have to write a name with all kinds of dots thrown in there, isn’t it? So we are doing away with that here! Rebellion! C.O.M.B.I. (I’m a pussycat, really) is an edit series also doing old school disco, and this track is originally a track by James Bradley called ‘Wrapped Up In Your Love’. It starts with a bit of tribal drums and some African influences, and then we are transported back to the Seventies. Just after one and a half minutes of play the song really starts, and the cheery disco comes to the fore and the vocals begin. And the vocals are one of those soul disco vocals, you know. If this does not get you dancing you are perhaps better off just ignoring the whole genre entirely, because as far as disco goes this, to me, is delightful and catchy. The guitar solo is also put in there, which is a good thing because you have to add and subtract stuff if you want to keep a song interesting for almost ten minutes. And C.O.M.B.I. does so successfully by sometimes adding some punch, sometimes going back a bit, or by adding a new instrument, and so on. It’s old school goodness and should make for some dance inducing happiness.

http://hypem.com/track/942214/C+O+M+B+I++-+Tangled

Orally Fixated by Roisin Murphy

I love Roisin Murphy. Or well, I like a great bundle of the tracks she has put out. So a new Murphy track is something that could potentially brighten up my day. Unfortunately the day did not really get a lot brighter because of this track. There are some electronic elements thrown in there which in my view only distract from and distort the song instead of aiding it and pushing it forward. Perhaps the chorus was inspired by an Eighties happy synth pop chorus, but it fails to capture that kind of catchiness. So the chorus is not really a success. I also find the title to be kind of corny, a failed attempt to try to be hip and edgy. The song in my opinion does not really bring out the best qualities of Murphy either, and the electronic additions almost render the song unlistenable. This in addition to a mediocre chorus makes this song a bit of a dud, especially for Murphy’s standards.

http://hypem.com/track/946785/Roisin+Murphy+-+Orally+Fixated

Lovesick by Lindstrom & Christabelle

Another week, another fine track by Lindstrom. This time with the addition of vocals, courtesy of Christabelle, formerly known as Solale. They will work together on a full album for next year, and this is probably one of the tracks coming from their working relationship. Her voice is a bit spunky, which gives Lindstrom some extra incentives to create and try out some new stuff, and he does so admirably. The bass is very much a presence in this track, with the clear piano countering some of the heavy bass sound. The track, above all, will get you swaying those hips a bit. Christabelle has a pretty low voice and she does not necessarily sing with it as much as she narrates the story, which adds to the darker vibe around which Lindstrom builds something underground dancey. So don’t let the happy sounding exclamation at the start of the track mislead you, as this one is more at home in a dark night at a club than in the summery festival season. And I for one don’t mind. Another good addition to the Lindstrom oeuvre.

http://hypem.com/track/949847/Lindstrom+Christabelle+-+Lovesick

Just Don’t Let Go by Laberge (DJ EQ remix)

Well, hello beat, you can say that much when the song starts. You can easily categorize this as booming electro, something Vitalic could play in a DJ set. So it is hard hitting, but also with a bit of dance sensibility. Furthermore the soundscape is expanded by the additions of some spacey sounds at the right places. The track has a build-up which you could expect from a song like this sans vocals, but which unfortunately is absent in quite a lot of songs. Not in this one though. It goes from the more booming to a bit of disco, from slow down to build up to intermezzo and back. Sometimes the bass even gets the spotlight, just to return to the beat afterwards. Very nice remix this is, with a lot of variety to keep the track alive during it’s 6 ½ minute running time. If some bits would have been a bit more intricate it would be massive, but even with that minor detail this one was a pleasant surprise for me.

http://hypem.com/track/944614/Laberge+-+Just+Don+t+Let+Go+DJ+EQ+Remix+

Feel It When You Know by VHS or Beta (LA Riots remix)

VHS or Beta contributed to The Juan MacLean’s Happy House EP with a very sweet remix. So something can be expected from these guys. In this remix though the beat is a bit too straightforward and a bit too dominating, especially in the beginning. After that the qualities that made their remix of ‘Happy House’ so nice are added to this one, and those qualities are the catchiness of it and the electro bits, and especially the mixture of these two. But LA Riots perhaps centre it too much around the beat, which in this case might be a bit unfortunate. It is quite danceable though, and the vocals and the lighter bits make for a pleasant contrast to the beat. So it is not all bad, but the beat is too controlling and not surprising enough, and that negates the good qualities of VHS or Beta, which can’t be the intention of any remix, surely.

http://hypem.com/track/947299/VHS+Or+Beta+-+Feel+It+When+You+Know+LA+Riots+Remix+

Animal Animal by Penguin Prison

Oh my, I’ve got the feeling I’m being warped back some decennia with this one, and not in a good way. Cheesy pop with synths, that’s what it is screaming to me, with a bit of African timing to make it not much more interesting. In the chorus the vocals are smoothed out, and the lack of balls comes shining through even more. I did not know the band previous to this track, and I cannot say that my interest in the band has been drastically heightened by this one. The more I hear the chorus, the more I get the feeling that the chance I am going to like this one more as time goes by is not very big at all.

http://hypem.com/track/916790/Penguin+Prison+-+Animal+Animal

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