The album title is understood as soon as the thick bassline locks into the groove of the opening track. This time around they might be more preoccupied with moving the dance floor than jangling out the starker vision of post-punk. The vocals still hold a great deal of quirk to them. Mood-wise they are not happy as the music they are dancing to would lead you to believe. The hooks are well written enough to almost fool of the fact. This sounds like a long-lost album from the 80s. They merge electronics in the most organic manner possible.
It is pretty clear the second song is already a slapper less than a minute in. The driving dance pulse is still the main forces that moves the song, while the vocal phrasing falls in all the right places to make this work. I like the guitar in "Karma Climb" but compared to the previous songs I do not feel like the vocals works as well. This album is headed in a more Kraftwerk direction, but still more vocal oriented as heard on the more lilted vocal of "Kiss". The synth sound on this album is pretty impressive. The work synth bass lines in with interchangeable bass guitar depending on what the groove calls for. At times they let things breathe with atmospheric breakdowns. Some of the guitar tones darken things with a ghostly reverb When they break the seven-minute mark on this song it feels like they are just jamming around on it. Not the typical mood for dance music.
They remind me of Bon Iver's more electronic moments when silence kicks into the meat of the song. The vocals are well, layered and the overall vocal production on this album is top notch. As far as the sonic darkness of this goes is more on a Twin Shadow tip. There isa noisy distortion in the periphery of this song. The beat takes on more boom for "Strawberry Lemonade" which seems pretty effective. This does not leave a great deal of space in the mix for guitar until the chorus kicks in. "Vibe" is one of the album's better songs. "Educate' is more manic in its future pop pulse that blends with post-punk tension. It reminds me a little of the Talking Heads jamming with Peter Gaberiel. The deluxe digital edition of the album has two remixes on it, but for the purpose of this review 'Strange Intimacy" is going to be the last song on the album. It is pretty effective and progresses into a pretty sweet groove. I will give this album a 9 though time will tell how it grows on me and if I can find a copy online to listen to, aside from the Bandcamp stream.
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