Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours
Modular / Interscope (4/8/08)
Dance / Pop / Rock
I’ve been familiar with the Modular label for awhile. With the likes of The Presets, Chromeo, Klaxons and MSTRKRFT among others on board, I wanted to check out Cut Copy. However, when I finally got around to listening to their debut album, Bright Like Neon Love, I wasn’t overly impressed. The album just didn’t jump out and grab me. Frankly, it seemed pretty cookie-cutter, like albums by dozens of the band’s contemporaries. While the album was fun, and upbeat, it lacked something other than its obvious throwback to ’80s synthpop sound. I figured this was another band that would unfortunately get lost in the shuffle.
However, when I heard Tim Goldsworthy (band member of LCD Soundsystem, programming guru and joint owner of DFA Records) was going to be co-producing this new album, I figured I’d give them another shot, and thank goodness I did.
In Ghost Colours draws heavily from New Order while having a decidedly Daft Punk feel to it, though it stands strongly on its own. It’s both breezy and confident, a dichotomy that is immediately obvious on the opening track, “Feel The Love”, which is a sunny slice of space-rock and danceable heaven.
The album’s first single, the disco-laced “Lights and Music” has a Justice sensibility to it, which is easily understandable due to frontman Dan Whitford having a DJ background himself.
One of the best tracks on the album and a personal favorite, “So Haunted”, swells with guitar fuzz, and will compete for having one of the most beautiful choruses of the year. And that’s a bold statement, being that it’s only April.
While I had fun with all the dance tracks, I was strangely drawn to the decidedly less pop-like tracks, which include “Midnight Runner” and the melancholy “Strangers in the Wind”, the latter scoring as the most earnest sounding track of the set.
This album is directly to the point, as the lyrics leave no room for guess work, and the music speaks for itself. Every track is enjoyable whether you’re getting ready for a night out or just relaxing. Fans of Erasure, Kraftwerk, Human League and New Order will not be disappointed.
Tags: Chromeo, Cut Copy, Daft Punk, Erasure, Human League, Klaxons, Kraftwerk, LCD Soundsystem, MSTRKRFT, New Order, Presets
