| Track |
B.B. Electro |
| Album |
We are A+C (2001) |
| Label |
Emperor Norton |
| Website | www.arlingandcameron.nl/ |
| Purchase | Amazon |
| External Review(s) |
Leave the disco exploration to Daft Punk and
Basement Jaxx; leave the lofty lounge kitsch to Air. Like virtual
tourists, Arling & Cameron skim it all (and more) with their
own peculiar brand of Dutch cheese powering the trip. Arling &
Cameron dabble in 22nd-century space pop, riding the soul train
here, dancing with cocktail bongos there. Throughout its style excursions,
We Are A&C is steeped in happy synths and crisp drum machines
that help make the world safe for microchips and modems. They couldn't
be soulful (or apparently original) if they tried, but as the twosome
did on their debut, they excel with the highest form of flattery.
The snappy, swinging "Can You Pah-Pah?" is a ringer for
the Swedish wunderpop of Komeda; "Love and Understanding"
apes the sexy slo-mo of Air (or is that Barry White?); "We
Are A&C" humorously recalls Sister Sledge(!), or perhaps
Kraftwerk. And sometimes, as on the cloyingly kitschy "Freedom,
Right Now!" A&C give the Partridge Family a run for their
bubblegum. But they soon recover with the Burt Bacharach-like sheen
of "Ocean Drive" and the luscious Brazilian jazz of "Sunday."
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| Personal Commentary |
| What can I say, these guys are totally warped out of their minds. Leave it to the Dutch to come up with some of the kitschiest tunes around. I suppose you could call them a Dutch Pizzicato Five? I first heard of them through a sampler disk which contained the track "How about the boys" from their first album "All-in". While most people would probably be turned off by the nature of these tracks, there is something all too endearing and just so damn quirky about these songs. Well, I'll leave it up to you, the listener, to make your own judgements. |
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