You ever wonder what a movie score would sound like if a Spaghetti western starred a sheriff and deputy adventuring on the open plains rebel rousing and whip cracking. Me neither. What if the sheriff and deputy were Daft Punk? What if the outlaws they fought were robots? Fluorescent robots?
Django Django’s 2012 self-titled release is a marvel of mashups. Its western feel collides with surf rock guitars and synth beats so uniquely, I struggle to pin a name to it. Yet all of it feels so familiar. The band is based out of London and has received awards from press and industry over there.
The Album Django Django is a sonic collage of familiar musical elements great on their own but strikingly different when compared together. Their influences of the Beach Boys harmonies and Link Wray classic guitar stylings stun on tracks such as “Hail Bop”,“Default” and “WOR” while world Beats on “Zumm Zumm”…. Wait a sec I’m getting ahead of myself.
The introduction track sets the scene for the album. A repeating synth bass tone (sampled from the Rambo first blood soundtrack?) evolves into a native drum beat and then an archetypal western tome of life on the frontier. Imagine Clint Eastwood in his iconic Poncho, but wearing wrap around sunglasses.
From here it ramps up and into the first track “Hail Bop” where we are first delighted with the surf guitar and haunting beach boyish styled vocals. There is a lot going on in the tracks. Layers and layers of techno burps and blorps tantalize, whilst whips crack, hands clap and, of course, bass sweeps delight, always coming back to the familiar and pleasing vocal dressings.
Tracks like “Firewater” and “Hand of a Man” remind me of the haunting yet simplistic delivery of vocals of an Alice in Chains song. Meanwhile songs like “Waveforms” approach elements of a Chemical Brothers cut from their album Surrender.
Okay… so they have interesting things going on. How does it sound? Great!! Each track uses the soundstage so effectively and imaginatively. Vocals may be centered in one track, then separated and opposed in others, always with a touch of reverb and forward sound that projects the voices out into the room. The mix is spacious, dynamic and exciting.
It’s overall a fun, one of a kind listen. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I hope you do too. Please enjoy responsibly.
