CD review: Gang Gang Dance
By Casey Gillis on Nov. 05, 2008
By Blair Amberly
ARTIST: Gang Gang Dance
ALBUM: ‘Saint Dymphna’
LABEL: The Social Registry
REVIEWER RATING: 3.5 out of 5
If you went by the name, you might think electronic-based musical group Gang Gang Dance would be making massively danceable club music. Instead, their electronic sounds, while incorporating a balance of ambient and danceable moments, seem mostly intended for listening and absorbing. Their experimental songs take in a wide array of influences and give back very fulfilling electronic compositions.
“Saint Dymphna” is the most recent album, following several EPs, by the Brooklyn trio. This record sees them reaching out to everyone with an accessible yet uniquely diverse set of songs. There is everything from heavy synth exploration, spacey fusion, disco-pop goodness and even a hip hop song.
The latter, “Princes,” features rapper Tinchy Stryder showcasing a playfully quick cadence over tribalistic percussion, furious synth notes and stuttering piano rolls. It sounds nothing like most hip hop being made in America but rather the progressive take on melding musical genres found in European hip hop.
The song “Vacuum” is a spacey voyage into subtle electronic shifts with well-jumbled drum work. The primary riffs of synthesizer notes sound like a slower, updated version of the guitar work from My Bloody Valentine’s “I Only Said.”
It is the range of diverse influences from psycadelic rock to middle eastern sounds (see “Blue Nile”) to ’80s dance-pop that makes Saint Dymphna so solid. Many of the songs are instrumental, but vocalist Liz Bougatsos contributes a combination of subtle yells and proper singing on a handful of tracks. “House Jam” is an album highlight, finding Bougatsos reaching early Madonna-esque heights with a lively trance-inspired pop song.
The album leaves us with “Dust,” an ambient combination of light bongo percussion and warm synthesizers that sounds inspired by Brian Eno. “Dust” is an excellent closing track to an album filled with a diverse sampling of wonderful sounds. Saint Dymphna takes elements of the greatest in modern music and electonically redistributes them into a lush, rewarding record.
COMMENTS