Thursday, October 04, 2007
I Want To Be With The Macho Man
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 This is the front cover for the brand new Muscles album, Guns Babes Lemonade.
I listened to this for the first time on Saturday afternoon and was so overwhelmed with emotion in doing so, it's taken me five days to write about it. I smiled from ear to ear for the duration of all 11 numbers on this disc. The songs are FUN (I'll use this word a bit over the next few paragraphs,) but, more importantly, the person who made this album had more fun than I ever will listening to it; and it really shows. That's what really got me, I don't think I've ever heard anyone having THIS much fun on an album. That's just pure bliss for me.
For those of you in the dark as to who Muscles is, his real name is Chris Copulos, he's a young Aussie boy, and he makes incredibly fun electronic music. FYI: He's also really, really cute/hot in that naive country boy kind of way.
But this album, which was released this week (and was the first record I'd gone out and bought on the day of release without actually hearing it online as a leak first - I think it's actually been a couple of years since that's happened to be honest with you,) is a fiery ball of good times and fun, fun, fun.
I must warn you; this is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Muscles' vocals aren't amazing, but they don't need to be; it's part of the charm and beauty of all the songs. It gets a bit shouty but, again, it's all in such good fun that it doesn't bother me. The best way to describe his voice is to say he sounds quite like Gavin Rossdale. A LOT, actually. The voice is an acquired taste, and while I will completely understand where people are coming from when they tell me they cannot stand it, I won't agree with them. This peculiar voice, atop of quirky, electro beats... I say, I reckon you've got a winning debut album.
The tracks on here simply deal with things Copulos is obsessed with in life; ice cream, drinking lemonade in hammocks (it's my new favourite thing to say; "Lemonade in hammocks!",) eating marshmallows, being with friends, partying, being young, that sort of thing.
Essentially, quite a few of these songs discuss being apart of the dance scene, in particular Sweaty, in which Muscles replicates a conversation held between two pill-popping ravers. "I'm getting tired and I'm sweaty, but I still wanna touch ya if you let me. Because we hugged a few time and it was special... My hand slipped into your hand, and it was awesome, and you were special." Mashing genius lyrics up with loud, happy synths; this is the kind of thing that makes my day.
The whole album is a goldmine of electronica. One Inch Badge Pin contains yet another legendary, local-industry related line which tickled me pink. "Last night I met a girl, who says she has connections, in the Melbourne Independent Music Community... who says she has connections." Maybe this will go over non-Aussie's heads, but as someone who sees what goes on and how this "community" operates (and how many people claim to have these so-called connections,) it's an absolute gas. Maybe that's why the rave references sit well with me too; I spent a good portion of my teen years through to my early 20's working as a door bitch and, later, in publicity for several 'rave' parties and nightspots in Melbourne. So I can relate to the story told in Sweaty because I've seen that very story unfold around me countless amounts of times. That cliche of people loving each other stupid when they've induced MDMA, it's an ongoing joke amongst ex-ravers and people who've worked in the industry, which may explain why that song especially struck such a chord with me.
Both The Lake and Lauren From Glebe incorporate proper trance music melodies, something that is normally looked down upon by electro enthusiasts. But it's just so pretty...
Without sounding like a juiced up raver (which - just for the record - I am not, and have not been for quite a few years,) this record really is the pants. It's totally life-affirming stuff that has reignited my passion for Australian dance music.Labels: Album Reviews, Australian Pop, Hot Boys
2 Comments:
- 10:03 AM | Mike said...
I love Muscles and I think the album is the musical equivalent of an ecstasy tablet!
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- 6:31 PM | Kamikaze Camel said...
I picked this album up today from the office. Quite excited. But I also got the Robyn album so I'm listening to that first.
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