Veröffentlicht
May 14, 2014
- It's been just over a decade since Dave Macklovitch and Patrick Gemayel released their first album as Chromeo, She's In Control. That record set the tone for a career that's consisted mostly of unambitious variations on their kitschy, personality-driven electro-funk. After 2010's disappointingly one-note Business Casual, it was hard not to question whether their shtick, however fun and irreverent, had run its course. But don't discount them just yet—during those ten years, Dave 1 and P-Thugg, as they're known in the Chromeo-verse, have been honing their studio chops as well their onstage personas. White Women, their new album, doesn't completely toss out their old formula, but it does expand its limitations. All of a sudden, Chromeo sound inspired again.
White Women is named after a book by Helmut Newton, whose aesthetic explorations of lewd fantasy inspired Chromeo's own leggy obsessions. It still has elements of their usual cheeky electro throwbacks, but most of the arrangements are pristine emulations of disco-funk. P-Thugg's familiar talkbox is used sparingly, taking a backseat to pillowy harmonies and lush instrumentation. It's a shrewd turn, following the cultural prompt of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories (though White Women doesn't attempt to match that album's ambition.) Dave 1's lyrical affectations also fit naturally in this setting, his off-hand references to Jet Blue and female body parts echoing the lifestyle aspirations once woven into the marketing of Euro disco.
The four previously released singles, which include the Toro y Moi collaboration "Come Alive" and the buoyant "Sexy Socialite," are some of the most straightforward things here. More surprising is the delicate, piano-driven "Ezra's Interlude," which features Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, and the sincere mood-shifter "Lost On The Way Home," their second (and much more successful) collaboration with singer Solange. The rest of the album contains scattered hints that Chromeo are finally starting to get sensitive: for every flashy mention of air travel, there's a confession about commitment phobias or awkwardly heartfelt seduction techniques ("Old 45s"). Even their more caddish songs offer a chance for rebuttal: on "Sexy Socialite," a Fergie sound-alike interrupts Dave 1's light-hearted jabs to ask (with impressive vocabulary): "Why you comin' at me homie/ with so much acrimony?"
In a Reddit AMA from last year, Dave 1 said that this album marked the first time the band completely put their day jobs aside while recording. The increased attention shows—the goofy lifestyle play-acting of "Frequent Flyer" hardly detracts from its percussive detailing and delicious stabs of diva vocals. Even uninspired moments, like the overly long "Somethinghood," are mixed tastefully. Chromeo still aren't the most serious guys in the world, but White Women is a smart pop album rendered in vivid, 3-D detail.
Tracklist01. Jealous (I Ain't With It)
02. Come Alive feat. Toro y Moi
03. Over Your Shoulder
04. Sexy Socialite
05. Lost On the Way Home feat. Solange
06. Play the Fool
07. Hard To Say No
08. Ezra's Interlude feat. Ezra Koenig
09. Old 45's
10. Somethinghood
11. Frequent Flyer
12. Fall Back 2U