Autoparty - Lumlight

I got the Autoparty (comprised of Baskerville singer/guitarist Rob Keith and bassist Christoph Gerozissis) debut, Lumlight, from Liz one balmy afternoon, and I was pretty excited. New music is something like new sneakers; you have to put them on immediately and bounce around for a while. Unfortunately, not all sneakers have great bouncy properties, and likewise, some new music just leaves you feeling flat. I have to confess that this genre, call it Electropsychedelia LaptopPopDiscoNoir all you like, is just not my bag, baby. In fact, I'd have to say that the more contrived a name is given to something, the more contrived that something generally turns out to be...and I'm not sure I've ever known a case where being more contrived translated to something positive.

Moving right along, though, and trying to be as objective as I possibly can...I will give Autoparty their due when it comes to the first track and single, "Lumlight." This is a very nifty song. First of all, the vocals on "Lumlight" sound like lead singer of Beloved, which is a plus in my book. It's a very atmospheric, ambient tune that makes one think of cruising summer streets on the way to the club. It's a gem really, and I plan to put it on mixes for my friends.

And there's where the lovefest ends for me. While the two tracks following ("Je Je Boom" and "Nick Is In A Crawl") are decently catchy, by this point, I came to realize that Autoparty are a one-trick pony. One song bleeds droningly into another, and I just simply was bored to tears with it by the end. In fact, I had to look at my player several times to tell where I was in the tracklist because there were no real distinguishing characteristics.

Now, I'm willing to concede that in a rave/dance/club atmosphere, consistency of beat and rhythm can be just what the doctor ordered. But frankly, I've always resented the fact that a constant dance step can be employed for an entire evening out. It's unimaginative and underestimates my intelligence, not to mention my need to move to all kinds of music in strange and new ways from time to time.

Lumlight is perfect for people who don't want to put a lot of effort into their dancing but much prefer to shift their hips ever so slightly on a 2-2 beat while keeping their smart cocktail from spilling. So I'm afraid I have to give a thumbs down in general to this side project. It's got a decent beat, and I can dance to it, but I wouldn't really want to.