Felix Da Housecat 
Devin Dazzle and the Neon Fever
/emperor norton; 2004/

 

 



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I feel like partying and dancing like there's no tomorrow. I have spent the past 9 months thinking and now i feel like feeling again. There's no happiness in introspection. 

So, this album will be misunderstood by most of the neurotic indie boys crew, mainly beacuse it's FUN and you can dance to it, and maybe girls will like it. It's not perfect, but it contains some of the best dark disco songs you've heard in a while. It starts with a guitar riff. "Rocket Ride" is electroclash at his best, tight and melodic, with catchy lines such as "you're my boy and i'm your girl/ take me out of this messed-up world." The next killer is "Ready 2 Wear" a lost New Order hit, cloudy and dreamy with a cranky drum machine and hazy vocals. It's perfect for a slow motion scene in a nightclub. Just like in the movies. Now here comes the darkest of Devin Dazzle and the Neon Fever's disco jewels. "Everyone is Someone in LA" is an incredible disco rock song, with computerized handclaps, synth lines and a hard rock guitar. It ends with a fade-out, but nothing lasts forever. The end of the album fails to live up to this disco assault. "Let Your Mind Be Your Bed" lacks a little something to be really good, "Watching Cars Go By (Cyberwhore)" is stadium disco and "Hunting Season" can't help but sound a bit bland, despite an insane chorus. The party kicks in again with "Neon Human" a five minutes dancefloor epic, complete with cheesy synth lines and an eurodisco chorus (i wanna be human/ human/ human/ humaaaaaaaaaaaan).

Well. I just love the first half of the album. It's really dark, tight and insane. The second half ends up a bit poppier and well, not as good, but the good songs definitely make up for the poorer ones.

-Barbara H

/june 1st 2004/