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Review: Jack Foley
BELOVED fans may want to rush out and pick up a copy of Caged
Baby's Will See You Now album, which harks back to the
classic style of those dance innovators, as well as the more contemporary
approach to dance music adopted by Mylo, Cut Copy and Royksopp.
The album is dripping in a retro synth style that's ripped right
out of the 80s, but it also feels as though it has its finger
on the pulse of the evolving dance scene at the moment.
Not everything hits, of course, and a couple of tracks feel a
little too rooted in the Ibiza culture but Will See You Now
certainly succeeds in brightening up the mainstream dance scene
and provides a satisfying alternative to the big club sounds of
the moment.
Highlights include the opening track, Hello There, which
is dripping in the effortlessly chic style of The Beloved, while
the distinctly 80s approach of Amplified Heart contains
a vocal style reminiscent of INXS (one of the duo's influences).
Former single, 16 Lovers, is a kitsch-laden collection
of quirky beats and distorted vocals that recall the heady excess
of the 80s with a dance sound not dissimilar to Prince of the
Cream era.
While the nob twiddling on Never See More delivers an
orgy of distorted blips and beeps that gel together as a seductive
whole.
Evolution is another instant corker that contains a
melodic loop that instantly hooks you, while final track, Marmalade,
provides the perfect comedown, a piano-drenched slow-burner that
washes over you like a cool sea breeze.
For the record, Caged Baby is comprised of Tom Gandey on vocals,
Jim Carmichael on drums, Jimmy Day on keys, and Kan Lailey on
guitar.
Their name is either derived from their belief in being chained
to Mother Nature by an unseen umbilical chord, or because their
releases would fall next to the Chemical Brothers in HMV - depending
on which story you believe.
What's indisputable is that Caged Baby have delivered one of
the best dance alternatives of the summer.
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