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They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover - well, it's hard not to fall into that trap in the case of The Rex The Dog Show, boasting as it does some rather wonderful canine capery in comic form.
Happily anyone parting with their money ahead of a listen won't be anywhere close to disappointed, for this is a bit of rollicking good fun on the dance floor to set tails wagging. Steeped heavily in the lore of 80s electro-funk, it comes close to the sort of lounge lizard disco bands such as Chromeo have helped to make cool again, though here Rex makes more of the influence of house music.
The album turns out to be half artist effort, half DJ mix, and at no point does it take itself too seriously. For every straight faced contribution - such as a powerful remix of The Knife's Heartbeats - there's a humorous aside, such as Rex warning the dog it's time to ‘get your ass down the vet'.
The identity of Rex himself seems shrouded in mystery. Some sources have him down as Jake Williams, the man behind the 1990s chart-bothering outfit JX. If that's the case he possesses the same instinct for a killer hook.
Nor is the funk in short supply, as we rattle through a selection of numbers designed to loosen the limbs and get us up and dancing. Gecko samples Siedah Garrett's K.I.S.S.I.N.G, while early homage to rave is found in Prototype. After getting his troublesome behind to the vet, Rex's Dog is then left in the teeth of an 80s gale, a windswept synthesizer sound providing perhaps the riff of the album, with appropriately big beats and production to match.
Not all the numbers add up though - the remix of The Sounds' Tony The Beat sounds a bit contrived in its chorus, while Itchy Scratchy, seemingly inspired by Malcolm McLaren's Duck Rock, falls short in its cut-up form despite the brief amusement value.
Returning to the animations, it's worth mentioning that the album's packaging is the icing on the cake. Drawn by hand, it's highly amusing, a visual representation of the madcap music to follow.
This album is, however, a huge amount of irreverent fun, and provided you approach it with that in mind, you'll get plenty of enjoyment out of it, especially when turned up loud at a party. Maybe not best in show, but the combination of 'Mann, Hund und Maschine' gets a highly commended star.
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