Metronomy have moved to higher ground on their new record, The English Riviera. Not in a Stevie Wonder kind of way; more in the manner of a Brisbane homeowner. The harried, broken electro beats of their preceding record that made them the darlings of unthinking hipster doofi (is that the plural for doofus?) everywhere have chilled out, to great effect.
When reinforced with sinister post-punk synthesiser, tooling, finger-picked guitars and slightly weakened, plaintive vocals, as most of this album is, the result is a great record. It’s inoffensive pop, but there’s enough going on to keep you interested.
The overall sound is that of a younger Groove Armada, a band coasting happily in the wake of Erlend Oye’s less successful experiments in dance music. This is angular pop that changes tact abruptly but smoothly between tracks, as well as often throughout.
The Bay is straight-up pop that artfully throws in bits and pieces of the genre that have been fashionable over the past couple of years. OnEverything Goes My Way, the layered, slightly spooky vocals stray close to a straight-laced English variation on The Dirty Projectors, while Trouble veers close to handbag house, but not close enough to destroy a strong record.
It’s a carefully composed mess of sounds that shouldn’t work, but does. Metronomy have pulled off that rare thing; an easy-listening dance record.
Best Track: Everything Goes My Way
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Bitte Orca THE DIRTY PROJECTORS
In A Word: ChairDancing
