Confusing band, CAJUN DANCE PARTY. Parts of them are brilliant, and other parts are simply unimpressive. There are two sides to them, and the appear in tandem on most of their songs.
‘The Colourful Life’ is their debut album. The follow-up is due out towards the end of the year – you have to have a certain amount of respect for bands who strive to be prolific. You may have heard bits of them already – their singles ‘Amylase’ and ‘The Race’ have proved popular with the indie stations. The general idea is indie with a twist – the songs are
So lets look at the positives. This isn’t a formulaic album as such. On virtually every song on this album they try to make their music more than just your standard indie fodder. They don’t feel bound to include all instruments on every track – violins appear where necessary and this is something a lot of bands don’t adhere to. Although they hardly stick to the simple verse-chorus format, they don’t deviate too heavily from it either.
The arrangements at times are quite inspired. ‘Amylase’ sounds like a very British Flaming Lips. At other times they head in the direction of indie-rock (‘The Great Untouchable’), It’s a well produced album that indicates a potentially innovative band. ‘The Hill, The View & The Lights’ is something of a revelation as a last song – Vicky Freund’s vocal talents should feature more heavily in their future. It’s a standout track, that shows the most promise. It twists through various changes, building from a stark, distorted number into a rather epic soundscape.
On the downside, it’s hard from singer Daniel Blumburg’s vocals not to be reminded of The Kooks, and this a huge barrier for me in attempting to enjoy this music thoroughly. ‘The Race’ has a fast-paced, catchy verse, but the vocals are earnest and this is a consistent tone throughout the album. There is little range in the delivery of the lyrics in general – there are just a few moments here and there where you get a flash of what could be.
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‘The Next Untouchable’ shows what happens if he sings a little differently, and it just makes you wish he did it more often. Likewise, a few effects are used on his voice in ‘The Firework’ and suddenly it’s interesting again. Were their more variety in his performance, this could have been a great album. Instead, too many songs sound anaemic and self-pitiful. Although they’re experimental, they’re also a little too twee – it never quite develops the teeth you’d like from a band so young.
Overall, this album falls down by just too indie. But this isn’t a band to write off yet – there are enough ideas to make you keep an eye on them in the future. They’re clearly a band of capable musicians with the potential to take their sound in many directions. They just need to be a little less Kooky. Having said that, they do have the potential to be very successful, but let’s hope that’s not at the expense of the innovation.
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