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TyronneThe Similou: So Hot Right Now
September 13th 2006 00:30
Electronica seems to be the fashion at the moment, most likely in the form of one or two guys with a computer and a keyboard. Surprisingly, the Similou are no different, especially considering their music videos feature a whole band. Nevertheless, their music is infectious Swedish pop - reminiscent of the 80s, but combined with enough electronica to keep up with the times.
Their debut album, "So Hot Right Now," was released in Scandinavia in March of 2005, and unfortunately it's taken a full year and a half to reach full recognition in the rest of the world - the first single, All This Love, only just reached the Australian ARIA Singles Charts a fortnight ago. Yet it seems that everyone has heard the Similou in one form or another, whether in its original form, or in one of the many remixes that All This Love has evolved into.
Ladykillers is a mix of the first two, a little jazzy, but extremely poppy and actually a little annoying at first. Somehow, the Swedish duo manage to twist the vocals throughout the album so that while at one point they can be deep and soothing, at another they are high-pitched and screeching. This track belongs to the latter camp, and definitely won't hit a chord with all, but is nevertheless a great song.
The interlude track introduces the all-too-familiar concept of a musical loop, something that was obviously present in the former tracks, but not as obvious. From Intermission onwards, it seems the duo fall into the old trap of creating a musical loop that sounds great on first listen, but after being constantly repeated for a three or four minute period, begins to get on the listener's nerves. Haunted House is the ultimate example of that, a concept track that does exactly what it sounds like - music stereotypical of a Haunted House that you would find in an 80s Disney movie.
While the duo's standard slips slightly as the album progresses, songs like Play With Us and Wild Beasts remain decent songs. While doomed to the short term memory portion of the listener's brain, they are good while they last, a partial experimentation with different forms and genres. The final track, Boogie Down is a little like the first, only much more 80s, a song that you would expect to be accompanied by a music video reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. It's a great wrap to an all-too-short album and signs the duo off on a high.
The album has all the signs of a debut, an experimentation of various forms of genre with an electronic twist, before the Swedish pair are comfortable within a musical arena that allows them to move forward without straying too far from their origins. Unfortunately, none of the songs have the same potential as All This Love and it would be unsurprising if they never really reach that same standard again. Still, the album is a must-buy for any fans of electronica, or just anything Swedish.
Links
Label Site
Click on the "DNM Media Player" to sample their music
MySpace Profile
Last.fm Profile
Label Site
Click on the "DNM Media Player" to sample their music
MySpace Profile
Last.fm Profile
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