Joakim - Monsters & Silly Songs

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  • I think 2007 is going to be a good year for Joakim. He's already released a slew of great remixes, the mighty 'Drumtrax' (that electro house song with the 'French Kiss' style breakdown) and now this, which is a very good album. Funnily enough, 'Monsters and Silly Songs' is made up of monsters, one-minute slices of controlled interference/noise, and the silly songs, which have a pleasantly wide scope: piano solos, electro, weird effects, pop and rock n roll. The best indicator of what the album is like comes from the artwork - hand-drawn Dungeons and Dragons-style monsters leaping out of flames. In other words, it's a bit cute. Not that I mean that as a criticism, but if your idea of a good tune is gnashing techno that makes your ears bleed then, this might not be for you. It might be you if you're looking for a more electronic take on New Young Pony Club's sound. The extremely catchy 'I Wish You Were Gone' and 'Lonely Hearts' both do the live drumming with electro effects thing very, very well, while 'Rocket Pearl' starts off with slowly strummed guitar before exploding into a banger that would have rocked Erol Alkan's Trash (RIP). And let's not forget 'Drumtrax', which is the closest I've ever heard to 'Superdiscount 2'. Again, not meant as a criticism. Punctuating these are the monsters, but there are also gems such as 'Peter Pan Over the Bronx', which is a beautiful piano solo that let's you gently drift off…before 'Rocket Pearl' comes in and wakes you up. Last year Gossip album 'Standing in the Way of Control' made it into the bags of many DJs who would normally turn up their noses at guitars on account of the fact it was darn dancey, and had some good remixes on the singles, and I think this year 'Monsters and Silly Songs' could go a similar way, especially if it gets some decent reworks. Then again, you could always just buy it if you can't be bothered to wait for the new LCD Soundsystem album - from what I've heard there's a good chance you might like it more.
  • Tracklist
      1 Monster #1 2 Sleep In Hollow Tree 3 I Wish You Were Gone 4 Three Legged Lantern 5 Monster #2 6 Lonely Hearts 7 Peter Pan Over The Bronx 8 Rocket Pearl 9 Drumtrax 10 Everything Bright & Still 11 Monster #3 12 Palo Alto 13 The Devil With No Tail 14 Monster #4 15 Love-Me-2 16 Tanabata
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