Crowds of Light
Don't ask me why there are so many pop and electro-pop releases as we reach the later part of Fall 2009. What with CFCF and Annie each putting out great records around the past few weeks, there are even more good beat-driven albums freshly out there I've neglected to mention. Case in point, last week saw the U.S. release of Vitalic's second album "Flashmob". If you've never heard of Vitalic, he's a French electronica artist whose real name is Pascal Arbez-Nicolas. He's been producing and making his own music since about 1996, but really didn't rise from the underground electronica scene until 2001 when he put out the "Poney" EP. The song "La Rock 01" made a serious impact all over the clubs that year, and it rose Vitalic's profile enough for Arbez to sign a record deal. The first Vitalic album, 2005's "OK Cowboy," was composed mostly of the many singles he'd released over the years, though for most people these songs were brand new as they hadn't really gotten such wide distribution before. A collection of underground greatest hits or not, "OK Cowboy" was remarkable when it was released, and remains good enough today so that Pitchfork just named it one of their favorite albums of the decade.Given that Arbez had 8-9 years to develop enough material for his debut record, it should come as less of a surprise that he's taken another 4 years to put out a follow-up album. As a stop-gap of sorts, he chose to release a live album in 2007, which really didn't do much for anybody. What has really shaken things up in the Vitalic camp though have been the music videos. Both "My Friend Dario" and "Poney Part 1" were intensely great from the last record, and the first single on "Flashmob" is "Your Disco Song," which also has an incredible video associated with it. They're the sorts of music videos you load onto one DVD and sell as collectors items, because you'll want to preserve them for posterity purposes. They're some of the best videos released this decade, if you're asking my opinion.
Videos aside, let's talk purely the music of "Flashmob". At 12 tracks and around 45 minutes, this thing is a party from start to finish. It's extremely fun, all the songs are like little 4 minute slices of dance heaven, often building up rhythm and speed as they go along until they crest shortly before winding down. Essentially that's what makes for a great dance track, and that pretty much defines most every song on "Flashmob". If you hear this album spinning at a club, it's not something you'll want to turn off because you'll be dancing your ass off. Arbez keeps the same synth-heavy style and automated vocal technique of the last album, which may not feel as relevant given the electronica scene today, but at the very least sounds like a slightly modernized version of great dance songs from 5 years ago. Then again, who am I to say where the current tastes in electronica lie - though you could argue that lo-fi electro aka glo-fi or whatever the hell they're calling it, is the latest part of that trend. By contrast, "Flashmob" is a polished piece of electro chrome, not over-produced, but rather extremely shiny and tidy from a sonic point of view.
Vitalic owes a hell of a lot to Daft Punk. Arbez comes so close to ripping off that duo's signatures it's almost not funny. But he also keeps himself smartly original enough to earn proper praise for his work. Then there's also the chain paradox of Justice being influenced by Vitalic and Daft Punk as well, while also succeeding on their own. The grand point in all this I suppose is that all three of these artists are in some way related and have all put together amazing albums in their own rights. "Flashmob" continues the trend, and though it may not ultimately be as influential as "OK Cowboy" was, it is more a more cohesive and engaging record. It gets weird on occasion, silly on others, and downright beautiful as well. This is masterful and artistic electronica made by a guy who absolutely knows what he's doing. You'll be surprised at how easily you get lost in the melodies. If you're looking for another great dance album this year, Vitalic is once again providing the gold standard.
Vitalic- See the Sea (Red)
Vitalic- One Above One [alt]
Watch some great Vitalic music videos
Buy "Flashmob" from Amazon
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