Music This week

Does one song make an album — or,in this case,two? Purists might say that an album needs more balance than that,but it really doesn’t matter when the psychedelic,electric,seriously catchy pop music of two university graduates from Brooklyn stays stuck in your head for weeks. Which doesn’t even mean that the rest of the album isn’t good; it simply isn’t as enslaving as the opening track Time to pretend and Kids.

The former is a tongue-in-cheek fantasy about a band making it big and having one hell of a drug-fuelled party; only to realise that they are fated to pretend so. This is our decision,to live fast and die young; we’ve got the vision,now let’s have some fun,sing Andrew Van Wyngarden and Ben Goldwasser in a song that is best played at full volume en route to a nightclub. Kids,reminiscent of something the teenage version of New Order would come up with,is a dance song that talks about growing up; don’t get put off by the trivial depth,though.

Electric feel,possibly as good as the two previously mentioned,is a song with funk and the amusing chorus line,Ooh,girl,shock me like an electric eel. Weekend wars and 4th dimensional transition are agreeable,with the former incorporating tribal drums and pseudo-philosophy. Of moons,birds & monsters is something a coked-up Seventies electronic hippy would produce; Pieces of what is an acoustic song sung in an echo that talks of despair. Still,Oracular Spectacular,my friend,can be addictive.

mangal.dalal@expressindia.com