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the
aluminum group:
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pelo
(hefty records) |
 Named
in honor of a line of furniture designed by Charles and
Ray Eames, the core of The Aluminum Group is comprised
of the Chicago-based brothers John and Frank Navin. The
brothers started out in 1983 as part of a hardcore band
named Women in Love, but moved on to put together five
CDs on their own on which they cite influences like The
Carpenters, Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66. How can you
go wrong with such idols?
Pelo is the fifth offering by TAG, but my first foray
into their unique sound. TAG combine many of the typical
electronica/techno sampling, but quickly moves beyond
them by employing flavors of world music, 60s lounge melodies,
70s ballads, and splashes of folk guitar. I guess what
I'm trying to say is there's a little something for everyone.
In addition to the uniqueness of the TAG sound, their
lyrics are unusual as well. On the songs that actually
have words, most only hint at something that makes sense.
The remaining ones seem to be out of some French art film
with that darn crying clown on the beach...ever seen that
one?
Although I must admit there are things I like about this
CD, I can't say that it's for everyone. It's minimalist
melodies and repetition can become quite annoying. If you
do choose to take this strange ride, review the map
before starting the journey. The tracks that I enjoyed and
recommend are "If You've Got a Lover, You've Got a Life",
"Worrying Kind", and "Sermon to the Frogs".
--Charlie Bradshaw |
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