So far, 2013 has been a great year for musical duos. We have had fantastic releases from the likes of Daft Punk, Disclosure, Icona Pop and Goldfrapp. Hot off their Disclosure collab 'White Noise' (which made it to No. 2 in the UK Charts), and their own mainstream singles 'Attracting Flies' and 'You Know You Like It', we now have AlunaGeorges long awaited new effort 'Body Music'. Completely separating themselves from the aforementioned duos, both Aluna Francis and George Reid have concocted a unique sound of slick and sexy electro meets 90's RnB. Whether its on the bouncy 'This Is How We Do It' or the slower paced 'Your Love Your Drums', this electro/RnB sound is heard coherently and consistently throughout the whole record. A sound in which the duo has quite clearly mastered. Title track 'Body Music' keeps the sexy and slick atmosphere going strong, but by track 12 the sound can come off as a bit repetitive and a bit done even with refreshing tinges of 2-step coming into play on stand-out track 'Lost & Found', and the soulful-electro, wobble-happy 'Friends To Lovers'.
However just because the albums sound is so stringently similar, it doesn't make the record as a whole any less enjoyable. 'I'm crystalised, cause' your mine. Kaleidoscope Love.. ", Aluna sings harmoniously while Reid provides the glistening electro, drum-heavy beat. The track serves as an enjoyable sister-track to hit-single 'You Know You Like It'. Cut 'Best Be Beleiving' boasts a shamelessly bubblegum pop-inspired chorus, and it works like a dream accompanied with the reptitive 'na na na na na' chant, mixing both 90s pop and their staple sound. Both tracks are obvious standouts, if not for their brilliant production but also for Francis' gorgeous nasal-lead vocals
As a duo, the pair haven't quite raised the bar like Daft Punk and Disclosure, but that's ok. This is their debut album, and I feel AlunaGeorge will take a few years to get to that level. In short, 'Body Music' is a great addition to the duo-headed album collection of 2013, and it acts like a taster into what the duo have to offer in the future.
The Conorverse Rating: 6.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment