Mylo: Destroying Rock n Roll bit by bit

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Mylo: Destroying Rock n Roll bit by bit

May 17th 2006 03:40

Artist Review

Never in my life would I imagine that I would be listening to dance music. I mean it's like switching from indie music to Britney Spears, or from classical music to Ludacris. Until this day, the closest to dance music I have ever come is my periodical love for Jamiroquai, but now, I have moved one tiny step closer. And the naem of that step is Mylo.

Everyone who has been alive in the past year has heard of him - in the form of Doctor Pressure, the song that mixes his original Drop the Pressure with one of many otherwise-horrible Gloria Estefan song. Sure the remix is good, but unfortunately it is no way a good snapshot of Mylo's album, "Destroy Rock 'n' Roll." Sure the song is decent and definitely alot fresher than the original Drop the Pressure, which can be slightly repitive, but the album is vastly different from the one single.

Nevertheless the album is a work of art, mixing dance, indietronic, house and jazz elements into a masterpiece that is wonderful to listen to. The album begins with Valley of the Dolls, which sounds like it was made by m83 or Nada Surf, those exploratory 80s-based indietronic bands, rather than a DJ, sitting on a computer. The only thing that hints it as something from a DJ is the heavy bass line, but nevertheless it doesn't seem like a dance song, seemingly distracted by choirs, a string arrangemenet and a groovable bass line.

The second track, Sunworshipper is even moreso than the first. With an even jazzier bass line, electric piano and string pads, along with a repetitive moniker from a teenage kid, the song just makes me want to relax and fall asleep, making it a song that is definitely lovable. The third track, Muscle Cars is the first hint of a dance album, but in an innovative way, choosing rather to focus on simple 80s synthrock riff, and yet somehow pulled off in a way that isn't corny in the slightest.

Mylo - Myles MacInnes

Of course, Drop the Pressure is a dance song in all its repetitiveness and it is here that the album takes a turn towards the standard dance/house genre. Unlike the remix, the original song uses alot more of the synthesised voice without much variation, making it rather dry and repetitive. In My Arms and Guilty of Love continue and increase this trend, while still keeping the jazzy base that seems to separate Mylo from the host of other DJs. Paris Four Hundred is seemingly a more dance-based version of Muscle Cars but manages to include a certain quasi-Jamiroquai acid-jazz sound in it, something I definitely appreciate.

The album's namesake Destroy Rock 'n' Roll is possibly the most interesting and unique song on the album. The song is essentially a repeating track of a narrator saying names of rock bands and individuals spanning from the 50s to the present and, while the narration track is only 1 minute stretched over 4 minutes, it is listenable, thanks to the catchy dance riff in the background.

Somehow, Mylo manages to make the narration track fit with the music, the beats of the song fit with the basic beat of the speaker's voice, and that is possibly what makes the song worth a listen. The remainder of the album seems to take a turn for the worse, turning towards rather standard dance songs with only flitters of imagination and uniqueness. One standout track from the rest of the album is Emotion 98.6 which uses a very relaxing and mellow string arrangement and makes it sound more like a Royksopp song. The other standout is Soft Rock a song with a misleading title, as while rather slow, it is definitely not soft, using a heavy bass line and recurring guitar riff to lull people into a false sense of relaxation.

Mylo is seemingly the best of both worlds. His album Destroy Rock 'n' Roll mixes the indietronic stylings of m83, Royksopp and Nada Surf with the dance beats of techniques of DJs all around the world. The end product isn't quite indietronic and isn't quite house/chillout but a comfortable middle-ground that makes the album easy to listen to, while engaging the listeners. While the album has its weak points towards the second half, it is definitely worth a listen.

His Official Website is here.

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Posted By: Jimbo - Category: Artist Review

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Comments

2 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Dayne

May 17th 2006 06:16

music is a like an instrument, it is always changing to the tune of the song. Mylo is one of the greatest artists of all time his work should be listened to like a wine maker would take to a fine wine. I agree to disagree with what your saying but found some things interesting. Nice writing.

Comment by Jimbo

May 17th 2006 06:29

I love Mylo's music, and even the more standard stuff on his album is excellent work. I just feel that he has so much potential as seen in the first five or six track on the album, but it falls slightly when he goes for the standard method of putting a heavy dance beat to a riff. But yeah, he is definitely my favourite indietronic/house artist at the moment.

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