Friday, July 01, 2005
my favorite record of 2005, thus far
Gang Gang Dance: "Glory In Itself / Egyptian"
Gang Gang Dance’s kaleidoscopic sound experiments hardly follow pop convention, but labeling them a noise band would be remarkably reductive and wrong-headed. As their second album, God’s Money, proves, Gang Gang Dance are considerably more ambitious than your average knob-twiddler or haphazard neo-tribalist collective. There’s not much sonic similarity between God’s Money and Sung Tongs, but as with that record Gang Gang Dance has produced an album that could conceivably appeal to a more pop-centric audience, without alienating their fan-base or shunting aside previous aesthetic ideals. The twitchy drones on God’s Money are usually semi-recognizable as songs, as with the surprisingly funky “Glory In Itself / Egyptian”. If you listen hard enough, it’s possible to make out the lyrics to this one. Halfway through it turns into what almost sounds like a rap song, with a repetitive synth melody and bass-line that could have come from an early Neptunes work. Lizzi Bougatsos, artsy singin’ chick of Scarnsworth’s dreams, obscures her words with delay and various effects, but they remain more discernable than on prior efforts. Like the album as a whole, you might have to put a modicum of work into understanding it, but once you do so some pure and refined enjoyment is your reward.
You can order a copy of God's Money here.
Gang Gang Dance: "Glory In Itself / Egyptian"
Gang Gang Dance’s kaleidoscopic sound experiments hardly follow pop convention, but labeling them a noise band would be remarkably reductive and wrong-headed. As their second album, God’s Money, proves, Gang Gang Dance are considerably more ambitious than your average knob-twiddler or haphazard neo-tribalist collective. There’s not much sonic similarity between God’s Money and Sung Tongs, but as with that record Gang Gang Dance has produced an album that could conceivably appeal to a more pop-centric audience, without alienating their fan-base or shunting aside previous aesthetic ideals. The twitchy drones on God’s Money are usually semi-recognizable as songs, as with the surprisingly funky “Glory In Itself / Egyptian”. If you listen hard enough, it’s possible to make out the lyrics to this one. Halfway through it turns into what almost sounds like a rap song, with a repetitive synth melody and bass-line that could have come from an early Neptunes work. Lizzi Bougatsos, artsy singin’ chick of Scarnsworth’s dreams, obscures her words with delay and various effects, but they remain more discernable than on prior efforts. Like the album as a whole, you might have to put a modicum of work into understanding it, but once you do so some pure and refined enjoyment is your reward.
You can order a copy of God's Money here.
