Album Review : !!! - Strange Weather, Isn't It?
- Written by Antonio Tzikas
Ah, Berlin. Any band or artist worth their salt has decamped there at least once in their lifetime in an attempt to soak up some of the energy of the city and its clubs and transfer it into music. It worked for Bowie, it worked for Iggy, and if Strange Weather, Isn’t It? is anything to go by, and it is, it’s definitely worked for !!!, albeit in different ways as their latest effort sounds a million miles from anything remotely dark and mechanical.
Kicking off with the previously released ‘AM/FM’ the record revolves around a gritty, punk infused and often claustrophobic dance/funk sound, the main ingredients being some of the sexiest bass grooves since King Curtis shared the recipe for his Memphis Soul Stew and some serious beats to back them. Add to that some super cool ‘Fame’-esque guitar, retro synth, scatterings of soulful sax and powerful female backing from new vocalist Shannon Funchess and you’ve got something that sounds not dissimilar to a collaboration by James Brown, The Stone Roses and Blondie re-mixed by Daft Punk and Shaun Ryder - and I mean this in the best possible way.
For this record, !!! have taken their influence from a diverse array of genres from the ‘70s to the present day, the only common factor running through is that they are all types of dance music. There are elements of the Happy Mondays/Madchester sound on ‘AM/FM’, a small amount of psychedelic dance of the MGMT/Animal Collective style seeping through on tunes such as ‘The Hammer’ and a slight hip-hop feel on others, like ‘Hollow‘, which mixes a hip-hop beat with some ‘90s rave vocals although, miraculously, not to cheesy, outdated effect.
Latest single ‘The Most Certain Sure’ contains elements of 80's synth pop and is straight out of Vice City while personal highlight ‘Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass’ is a pure cut of swaggering ‘70s funk. Although it’s all about the tunes here the lyrics contain a certain prowess and add an extra dimension to the record as a whole. The band delves into biblical reference and metaphor on ‘Even Judas Gave Jesus A Kiss’, though not in the most serious and sombre of tones as the track is just as upbeat as the rest.
Despite the range of influences on show, the record as a whole, consisting of only nine tracks, works incredibly well as a full album. The hook laden and infectiously catchy songs blend seamlessly into one another leading to a skip-less listen from start to finish. This is dance music at it’s very best.