Since when does mixing the trendiest Afropop with the catchiest
power-pop result in an album of synth-filled electronic tunes? Since
Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij got together with Ra Ra Riot’s Wes
Miles, giving bloggers around the world something other than the damn
recession to rant and rave about. Discovery’s LP is the summer’s
answer to MGMT, a series of hooky electro-R&B grooves that will
fuel dance parties. “Osaka Loop Line” is true to its name, looping
synth beats and robotic computer bleeps, and shifting tempo
ceaselessly. Eclectic influences infiltrate LP. Discovery gets
all T-Pain on us with vocoder vocals on the Jackson 5 cover “I Want You
Back,” proving they aren’t afraid to cross over to the mainstream. “So
Insane” has sharp Prince-like beats; “Swing Tree” beeps away like your
favorite Hot Chip song (or favorite scene in Wall-E); and “Can
You Discover?” reworks Ra Ra Riot’s “Can You Tell,” replacing the
violin and string arrangements with a maze of wriggly synthesizer and
spacey keys. Go ahead: Loop the album like Batmanglij and Miles looped
the synthesizers. This no-frills, all-fun summer hit is why they
invented the repeat button. — Danielle Sills
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2009.
