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Various artists
“DFA Compilation #2” (DFA)
Roller skates. Cotton candy. Fluorescent
strobe lights. These are a few of the DFA’s
favorite things. With an eye for wonderfully
tasteless retro kitsch, the production team of James
Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy has made quite a
name for itself in the past few years. Picking and
choosing their spots like trained audio assassins, the
two are directly accountable for some of the most
infectious-yet-heady dance records in recent
memory. Working with everyone from sassy funk
punks, the Rapture, to avant-garde noiseheads,
Black Dice, the DFA knows just who to nestle up
with. This compilation is a bottomless fanny pack
(that’s three CDs’ worth for you uninitiated)
packed with banging synthetic sounds, thumping
basslines and mind-snaring pop hooks. The first
disc races off to the dance floor, opening with the
debut single from Black Leotard Front, an
enigmatic band of nymphomaniac Francophiles
intent on unleashing your wild side. The Rapture
makes their presence known with “Alabama
Sunshine,” a previously unreleased song brimming
with post-punk booty jams and contrastingly shrill,
atonal vocals we have come to expect. Delving into
the second disc will reveal an innocent, cloud-like
expansive offering from Black Dice and Pixeltan’s
inevitable car commercial sound byte “That’s the
Way I Like It.” Disc three is a seamless, head
bouncing DJ mix of material on the previous two
discs. For fans of dance music with an indie edge,
look no farther than this compilation from the
DFA.
Eyes Like Knives
“Slow Distractions” (Dopamine)
Comfort is a valuable thing. People find it
in a variety of ways: movies, music,
alcohol. Boston’s Eyes Like Knives are
comfort embodied for many indie rock fans.
Initially, their sound is strangely familiar but it’s
hard to put your finger on. You don’t know
exactly how it is nestling so warmly against you,
you just know that you like it. The band’s debut
full-length roars loudly with a hard rocking, post
hardcore-informed sound reminiscent of many
current heavyweights of the indie circuit. Equally
combining grit and grace, Eyes Like Knives mixes
the driving, intelligent crunch of Hot Water
Music with the heartfelt sentiments and spacey
guitars of Sparta. Distortion plays a big part in the
album’s power; vocalist Scott Toomey’s wail
always mirrored by powerful, dissonant vocal
effects. His perfect foil is found in the shape of
Rebekka Takamizu, as her voice is a warm and
welcoming change of pace; sample the track
“Summer Song” for her Kim Deal-like dreamy
musing. Comfort and familiarity aside, Eyes Like
Knives is a band that stands on its own and
rightfully deserves to take its place among better
known indie rock acts.
By JORDAN REDMOND
WUSC Music Director
Le Tigre sinks its claws
into fresh musical styles
By CHUCK MYERS
KRT CAMPUS
These cats don’t purr. They roar, but
always with electrifying charisma.
With a blend of electronic pop and
punk music, and progressive-minded
lyrics, Le Tigre (Johanna Fateman,
Kathleen Hanna and JD Samson)
dispenses relentless sonic energy. When
the threesome hits the stage, there’s no
question that the dance floor will be soon
set ablaze.
Formed by one-time “Bikini Kill”
band member Hanna and former art-zine
writer Fateman, the New York-based
group staked out its claim on the music
landscape with a dynamic self-titled debut
album in 1999. Samson joined the Le
Tigre prior to its second record, 200l’s
“Feminist Sweepstakes.”
On the heels of its recent third effort,
“This Island” (Strummer/Universal), the
band has reached a new creative plateau,
and feels confident about its artistic
direction.
“Right now, we’re just really excited to
have produced the record that we did,”
said Samson. “We feel like we grew a lot
from the first album to the second album,
and a lot, especially, from the second
record to the third record. ... A lot of
people want us to make the first record
over and over again. But it’s like we want
to grow up, and we want to mature
(musically).”
“This Island” expands on Le Tigre’s
interest in a pop format instilled with
buoyant lift. The band really extends its
music claws however, when it comes to its
lyrics, which reflea strong feminist and
culturally liberal viewpoints.
Opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of
Iraq provides the inspiration behind the
processional force that drives the “This
Island” number, “New Kicks.” A fervent
punk spirit fuels the raging “Seconds,”
while the rock-driven “TKO,” conveys
the band’s frustrations with the slings and
arrows of landing major label fortunes.
“Viz,” a number written by Samson,
celebrates lesbian dignity and
distinctiveness.
I “I wrote that song (‘Viz’) because I felt
like there needed to be a conversation
about freedom of gender expression,” said
Samson. “That’s something really
important to us in the band.”
The album’s tenor takes a less issue
oriented turn with a remake of the 1982
Pointer Sisters classic, “I’m So Excited.”
Le Tigre integrates a few well-placed
reggae dashes into the tune’s famous
ebullient tempo, giving it a refreshing
new pace.
Hanna, Fateman and Samson split the
vocal and instrumental roles in the studio
and at their vivacious live shows. This
division of music labor has allowed the
group greater flexibility to explore
different creative interests and avenues.
“All three of us have very difFerent
musical backgrounds, and likes and
dislikes,” explained Samson. “That’s
really apparent in this record specifically.
Something we really wanted to do, and
one of our goals in the past, was to make
a record where we felt like each song
could be by a totally difFerent band. So
we’re really into the way everything
sounds so difFerent, and that there’s a
hip-hop track, and a super pop track like
‘I’m So Excited’ and a punk song like
% ‘Seconds.’”
While Le Tigre attained major-label
status with “This Island,” it maintains
close ties with the indie/underground
music scene. The trio remains firmly
committed to their musical approach and
the issues if feels strongly about — and
having a good time.
“I think that the beauty of our band is
that we don’t really try to create some sort
of middle ground,” observed Samson. “It
just exists. Part of that is just because
we’re political people, and that’s how we
wake up every day, and that’s who we are.
We can’t change that about ourselves. But
we also really want to enjoy this time that
we have, creating music for our
community. ... It seems impossible for us
not to be too political or dancy or fun
because that’s exactly what we want to
do.”
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