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Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love (Modular/Island)
UK release date: 24 October 2005
Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love

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track listing

1. Time Stands Still
2. Future
3. Saturdays
4. Saturdays
5. Going Nowhere
6. DD 5
7. That Was Just A Dream
8. Zap Zap
9. Twilight
10. Autobahn Music Box
11. Bright Neon Payphone
12. Dream

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Cut Copy's main man Dan Whitford is described by his website biography as a 1970s MOR fetishist, but his band, like so many at the moment, take a look at 1980s Manchester for their principal influences. Crucially they integrate this with an eye on the future, employing a tactic or two from the French school of catchy, robotic dance music, and adding some breathy, captivating vocals into the bargain.

Whitford initially went solo with his I Thought Of Numbers EP, the first under the Cut Copy moniker, but for this album he recruited a band and filled out his sound somewhat. These new options he uses to great effect, able to beef up the guitar sound on Going Nowhere with a dark, moody colouring, its lightly vocoded lyrics inward looking in the manner of Joy Division but without the rawness.

The tracks more obviously geared toward the dancefloor work handsomely. Future employs the filter trick with a twist, breaking into a piece of irresistible funk. Saturdays has a killer chorus, a subtle euphoria in the intonation "there is a feeling in me, and I don't know why", its breezy appeal sure to entice fans of Mylo. Here and elsewhere the influence of Daft Punk is also key, but not overwhelming, as in That Was Just A Dream, which builds into something akin to Republic-era New Order, spun over more obviously club bound beats. Again the filter sees use, but once more in a tasteful way that suits the ebb and flow of the song.

The albums structure is curious and somewhat ineffective at the end, as it seems to contain a couple of false endings. However this proves to be a bonus in the case of Bright Neon Payphone, as just when the record seems to have disappeared over the horizon, up pops another uplifting vocal on Dream.

What this record achieves best of all is a fusion of guitar based songwriting and electronic beats, integrating the two effortlessly to greatly uplifting effect. These songs are strong enough to hold their own without the beats, but when charged up they gain a strong rhythmic edge that makes dancing a formality. An excellent album for the fringes of any electronic music collection.


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