Popular Computer - LiTe
- By Matthew Laidlow -
- Feb 06, 2012
“Oh, you’re one of those music reviewer types; you must love getting free music.” Hooray for the popular misconception that anyone who gets to critic a body of work by someone else always enjoys it. If it involved a system where people got given their favourite artist to review, then you’d only see glistening words being written. A JLS or The Wanted fan for example would rate any material they got their hands on as 1,00,000/10. Whilst we know JLS can branch in to the lucrative condom market, they can’t mess with basic maths. Not even Aston.
Sometimes it can be fun to take a punt on what you receive. Not everything can be within a comfort level. Departing from glum indie and switching to orchestral bliss could prove surprising results. Or, in the worst scenario, it’ll be a slab of power electronics that’ll make steam pour out of your ears.
But what do we all love to hear? Actually, leave your answer to that in a comment box. Assuming you said sounds that make you reminisce about summers gone by, you’re on to a winner here. It’s weird that people always go crazy over summer. You never hear Fearne Cotton play her song of the Autumn/Spring/Winter. Only summer.
Then again, beer gardens and trendy bars with roof terrace patio heaters need to pump out feel good music. Norwegian death metal probably wouldn’t entice customers to indulge in a third overpriced cocktail. What people seemingly want is up tempo songs that you can dance to, but don’t make you feel inclined to take an ecstasy tablet to. Or Roflcoptr if you’re trendy.
Popular Computer is Sylvain Dalido from Paris, therefore the instant comparisons shower down from people who’ll assume he’ll sound like Justice and Daft Punk. Thankfully, he doesn’t, who wanted more of the same power driven electro? Instead this French fancy gives us something different. Seemingly, it’s a mixed bag of grooves which offers us floaty blissed out moments with ‘Tokyo Sunset’ which comprises distorted and chopped up arrangements that rapidly cut in and out.
‘Pop Heart’ itself is a massively addictive song that stands out as the leading track on ‘LiTe.’ Most producers would worry that tracks on their album don’t have a sweeping vocal. Annoying dance export David Guetta seemingly has this train of thought. He’d have pulverised ‘Pop Heart’ with layers of echo, reverb and appeared in the video looking like a general tit.
With the tracks being a perfect length for radio, they fit into the format of gradually building in elements that will please the pop music lover inside of you. 'Heatwave’ could instantly stop people in an office as they try and discover who the performer is, but sadly instrumentals don’t get much play these days.
The best news of all for electronic music fans? It isn’t dubstep!
7/10
By Matthew Laidlow. Blogs at hecklerspray and tweets at MatthewLaidlow
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