from the LP Bright Like Neon Love, Modular Recordings, 2004
I gripe a lot about how the vast majority of modern-day bands who are aping the styles & sounds of the ‘80s do a cosmically horrible job at it, but there are always exceptions to any rule; Cut Copy are such a glorious exception one can almost understand why so many other bands get caught up, wrongly assuming they can accomplish the same task. I have to presume that much of their gear is vintage, which is truly vital to any proper simulation of an earlier sound (seriously, don’t get me started on all the fools who think they can digitize the sound of an 808…). Australia has a winning reputation for churning out bands and musicians with a preternatural ability to be expansive and pleasingly melodic, and these guys follow that path nicely. Beginning a song with the sound of a telephone ringing is not new, but the impact never seems to diminish; how much of our life is spent hearing that noise I wonder…? Some solid live instrumentation layered on top of mechanized beats, and swirling underneath it all is an army of monosynths and polysynths; the vocal snippets which get chopped up and looped in & out of the mix are a perfect example of imitation taken to the highest level---it feels like a humid night spent at some underground dance club in the early ‘80s, and I mean that in such a good way! The mash-up of genres (disco, post-disco, italo, house) blend like a top shelf margarita, and though the production is filtered and effects-laden, it never overwhelms. The cover art of this album is perfect as well, providing a flawless image to parallel the music within, a trailhead for thrilling daydreams about glossy lips and skylines always lit. Living up to the suggestion of the song’s title, this track is short and ends very abruptly, leaving the listener to wonder if the song happened at all, or if they just slipped into an ‘80s-induced coma for a couple minutes…
from the LP Bright Like Neon Love, Modular Recordings, 2004
