New York based band and original DFA label member The Juan Maclean's newest single "You Are My Destiny" features vocals from former LCD Soundsystem member Nancy Whang. The glossy house jam will be released via DFA as a single April 1st. Maclean's vocal sampling along with percussive synth stabs give the track a classic house feel and balances the dance-punk vocals of Whang with the bands shimmering dance production.
I am a huge fan of most everything DFA Records puts out (ehhh Free Energy). I was super psyched to find out last week that the label released The 2 Bears album Be Strong. For those of you unfamiliar with the band, The 2 Bears consists of Joe Goddard of Hot Chip and Raf Rundall, co-founder of the 1965 label (a subsidiary of SONY). After the first listen through Be Strong,I was all “WTF is this 90’s bullshit?” and then on the second listen it was all “Damnnn this 90’s shit is my jams.” The album is very dance-centric, in a way where you would imagine yourself walking through the London club scene at 2 am on a Friday night throughout the entire album. It flows seamlessly, almost as if it is an hour dance mix. If you are a fan of the Gorillaz, Hot Chip and or the Chemical Brothers, then you should check out the 2 Bears.
With DFA's flagship band LCD Soundsystem calling it quits, it leaves a void in the "too cool to dance but still loves dance music" scene. The Juan Maclean aim to fill that void with Everybody Get Close, a collection of new tracks and remixes designed to satiate the appetites of fans of DFA's patented brand of post punk dance music. While not being touted as the official follow up to 2009's The Future Will Come, Everybody Get Close has enough consistency and flow to feel like a cohesive work.
Starting things off with a bang, "Find a Way" launches off with a funky distorted bassline and a noodly piano hook that sets the stage for the rest of the album. "Let's Talk About Me" harkens back to the early days of acid house with a nifty bassline that is tweaked ad nauseum amidst a looping synth line and vocal samples. I wasn't too into Nancy Whang's vocals on The Future Will Come, here she appears on several tracks and the results are better than on the last outing. The album standout "Feels So Good" centers around Nancy's vocal hook and I've found myself humming it over and over all week, so either she got better or I'm less of a nitpicky jerk.
There are several remixes featured here, most notably Cut Copy's remix of "Happy House", which trades the original's signature piano hook with a syncopated synth bassline and some interesting chord modulation over Whang's vocals. While I appreciate the vocals more this time around, the band is always at their best when they let the tracks speak for themselves. "Deviant Device" is nine minutes of minimal downtempo bliss, allowing the groove to breathe in a way that's almost meditative. "X2" also shines, building on its acid bassline and reversed vocal loop into a spastic bass freakout. There's a kitchen sink vibe to this release, which is expected considering the somewhat compilation nature of it. Due to this, there's a playfulness to it that seems missing from The Future Will Come. The result is looser, unhinged and unpredictable, I prefer The Juan Maclean this way. Grade: A-
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