Friday, June 15, 2007

Funky Friday Is Datarocking

Norwegian duo Datarock released their debut LP Datarock Datarock to European audiences in 2005 after wowing critics, bloggers and music fans with their dance rock disco confections. Now, two years later, US audiences get a chance to enjoy this fine album. It has been reconfigured, with a few songs removed and 3 new ones added. Musically these guys do a great job of mixing slick electronics and disco sophistication with rock riffs. They also have a great sense of humor, with lyrics and pop culture references (Grease and Close Encounters of The Third Kind stand out) that bring a smile to my face. Today I offer a couple of the new tracks, which are definitely slicker than the rest of the album. They appear to have dropped the rocking in favor of an '80s approach. The crooning on Ganguro Girls reminds me of any one of those British blue eyed soul singers of that decade, and is a mid tempo groover about love in Tokyo that has some nice strummy guitar and synth strings. Fellow Bergen, Norway native Annie brings the fab guest vocals on the big disco duet of I Will Always Remember You, with its cheesy synths and roller rink action - great fun. A very entertaining album. I'm glad that this finally got a US release, and heartily recommend it.

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