I'm loving this movement for actual orchestral instrumentation that's been popping up here and there. Most obviously you seen in the wave of neo-soul singers with their peppy backing bands. Here, Bitter:Sweet utilizes samples of real instrumentation to create a very refreshing electro-pop. Hard to describe, but the word "swanky" certainly fits it. This is the futuristic cosmopolitan jazz/lounge music promised to people back in the late forties to early sixties, or at least what they would have made. That's pretty much the sound I get from it. Quite a tasty drink, deep with sweeping strings and percussion. Dancible in the old fashioned way despite being slick and modern. Tracks like " The Bomb" are magnificent. I had heard it on the radio and went nuts over it. The smart part about it is that listening to the lyrics, it's bitingly political but presents it in such a manner seemingly opposite than serious. Incredibly manic with the lead singer's vocal 1950's sex kitten "Ooh! Ooh!"'s. The rest of the album is a bit less manic, probably it's only disappointment, but the atmosphere of subdued space jazz is ear candy nonetheless. Play this at a party and people will most certainly ask who it is. I'm only eighteen and I dig this stuff, so it's not just for adults.
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