Gang Gang Dance: Saint Dymphna
Gang Gang Dance: Saint Dymphna
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Monday, 20, Oct 2008 05:10
Warp Records, out now.
In a nutshell...
Eclectic hybrid, erratic, hyper-real
What's it all about?
Gang Gang Dance present their latest neo-primitivist interpretation of the dance-pop album; creating an ultra modern soundscape - at once unnerving and enthralling. On their two previous albums the group has hinted at this direction, but has tempered their pop sensibilities with ritualistic elements which have tended to dilute the materials immediate impact. However, here the group achieves what they have often promised - conducting a form of musical alchemy to rein in their sound and produce an immediate, accessible construction of their sound.
Who's it by?
Long darlings to those in the know, Gang Gang Dance have here sought their shot at the mainstream with an accessible, although slightly unnerving, collection of pop explosions. Completing the journey which began with eponymous debut in 2004 and continued with God's Money in 2006, the group has refined its sound without losing its distinct character.
The spare guitar lines of Josh Diamond are mixed with the Lizzi Bougatsos's ghostly, wraithlike vocals to create an enchanting, danceable spectacle. The pallet is smudged with new-wave synths to soften the edges of their oblique electro sampling and increase the immediate penetration of the record.
As an example...
"My spirits are spinning around, around." - Princes
"We will be found within the hour, within the hour, so never let the man sour" - Afoot
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Minimal. While Gang Gang Dance have increased their standing among their peer - touring with the likes of Spank Rock, Black Dice and Sonic Youth - their mainstream profile remains virtually nil.
The group's history of experimentation and evolution has made them difficult to classify - consistently reaming outside of an established genre. As such, failing inclusion of an unexpected independent film hot - there seems to be little chance of the group receiving widespread recognition in the near future.
What the others say
"What that means musically is an album poised between dance and rock, New York abstract electronica and African tribal rhythms, 1980s post-punk-ambient-experimentalism and 21st-century futurism. A mish-mash, then, but one arranged with exquisite precision." - Paddy Costa, Guardian
"So clear and shiny it makes God's Money seem murky by comparison, this is predominantly a relative dance-pop album. But it still sounds completely like Gang Gang Dance, preserving their core of new-wave synths, tribal beats, otherworldly singing, and Residents-style loops." - Marc Masters, Pitchfork Media.
So is it any good?
Yes. Gang Gang Dance have delivered an immediately engrossing dance album - accessible to those with a passing interest in any or all of the mutated sub-genres it contains. It lurches wildly from dance floor filling dance numbers - including First Communion which emerges from the introduction to present an adrenaline fuelled rush - to slower, trancelike drones of closer Dust.
However, it is Desert Storm which perhaps most succinctly demonstrates the band's sound. Here are the tribal drums, shards of noise, yelped, sporadic vocals and dripping guitar lines - combined into a wholesome collage. The album has touches of Boards of Canada, Portishead and OOIOO early on, but this mixture and phrasing is unique to the New York band.
An unexpected coda is the rap from Tinchy Stryder on Princes. While experiments of this nature customarily fail - jarring the listener with jagged rap shrapnel once lulled into a sense of ethereal peace - Gang Gang Dance are able to make an exception to the rule. Instead the track, although standing apart from the album, forms a central part of it - accentuating the core synths, tribal drums and looping vocals.
7/10
Christopher O'Toole