Technicolour

Album review

Disco Inferno's follow-up to their experimental masterstroke concerns itself with an attempt at being more conventionally structured, but they remain bizarre. It succeeds on a handful of tracks, but otherwise the proceedings fall a bit flat, most likely the product of a clog in Ian Crause's creative artery. It's a patchy work, but it's not without its own set of highs. The sample fetish continues (gym floor squeaks, animal noises, car honks, breaking glass, etc.), but the increased role of guitar adds more structure and chaos, providing another layer. Instead of the samples making the songs, they tend to hover and play a more supportive role. The samples get in the way of the songs on some occasions, and the songs get in the way of the samples on others. Crause's songwriting is more personal and central. "Sleight of Hand" recognizes the rite of passage where young adulthood presents new ways of seeing how the world operates, the point where one realizes that things aren't so pure. "I'm Still in Love" could be a reaction to Talking Heads' "Not in Love," where Crause does an about-face from his usual world-weariness and avoids the cynicism of David Byrne. The firework bursts in the chorus are possibly DI's smartest use of sampling yet, until you hit the record's second side. "It's a Kid's World" was one of the most forward-looking singles of 1994, also managing to glance at every other possible angle. It slows down the battering drum intro from Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life," incorporating numerous kiddie show themes, brass bleats, guitar spirals, flute licks and what sounds like calliope trills. It's one of the wildest pop songs written, perfectly constructed. It's this magnificent track that redeems Technicolour from being a garden variety experimental pop record.

© Andy Kellman /TiVo