Susan Frances
05/06/08, 03:06 PM
Innerpartysystem - The Download EP
Record Label: Stolen Transmission Records
Release Date: July 1, 2007
Reading, Pennsylvania’s Innerpartysystem carry the torch for glamorous synth-pop soundscapes on their latest release The Download EP. Their electro-pop sheets have a likeness to Shiny Toy Guns with opulent sonic arcs reminiscent of Hundred Year Storm. Lead vocalist Patrick Nissley also shares the vocal calibrations of HYS’s lead singer Bill McCharen, while the music delivers shots of new wave/New Romantics sensibilities from keyboardist Jesse Cronan and keyboardist/guitarist Kris Barman sprucing the club/processed beats of drummer Jared Piccone. The songs are dance tracks with a tinge of emo in the lyrics which makes them meaningful phrases with words revealing feelings of lust, hurt, and escapism.
The track “The Way We Move” is an example of the band’s lyrical style: “She is simply a concept … It’s in the way she moves across the floor / In the way she keeps me waiting for / For what I can’t recall / I’m standing on the edge of broken confidence.” The lyrics don’t have the flamboyancy of many electro-pop outfits, but the band’s music most definitely does. The music is chic with palatial shimmers, like songs you expect to hear at Victoria Secret’s annual fashion show or for the unveiling of the latest model of the Aston Martin used in the next James Bond film as it is presented at an International Car Show. The music is really big and ostentatious with nicely polished patinas.
Dance tracks like “Don’t Stop” and “Heart of Fire” have expansive flourishes and soft inclines. The pulsating rhythms of “The Way We Move” beat at the rate of a pitter-patting heart, while the chunky grooves of “Heart of Fire” produce large craters along the synth loops. The track “Night is Alive” has a dark, ominous ambience as the synth channels build into intense sonic flurries and then withdraws slightly through the verses. The final two tracks “The Lovers Dancing” and “Lovers Dancing (Remix)” take advantage of digital notes that cuff the glaring synth channels and club beats. The remix version incorporates robotic elements while the original text has a more romantic air and elegant fluidity. The sonic arcs and valleys transition from one to the other with a complete ease of flow as the band members seem beacon by a single light and work as a tight unit.
Innerpartysystem’s latest release The Download EP is made up of synthetic fantasy escapes and real-fleshed vocals that bleed and love while bound to a human heart. This combination makes the disc significant in electro-pop sectors. Definitely watch for this music being played in chic clubs and shows where glamour presides. If it’s not, the songs absolutely should be.
Shiny Toy Guns, Hundred Year Storm, Autovaughn, Grand National
myspace.com/innerpartysystem (http://www.myspace.com/innerpartysystem)
Record Label: Stolen Transmission Records
Release Date: July 1, 2007
Reading, Pennsylvania’s Innerpartysystem carry the torch for glamorous synth-pop soundscapes on their latest release The Download EP. Their electro-pop sheets have a likeness to Shiny Toy Guns with opulent sonic arcs reminiscent of Hundred Year Storm. Lead vocalist Patrick Nissley also shares the vocal calibrations of HYS’s lead singer Bill McCharen, while the music delivers shots of new wave/New Romantics sensibilities from keyboardist Jesse Cronan and keyboardist/guitarist Kris Barman sprucing the club/processed beats of drummer Jared Piccone. The songs are dance tracks with a tinge of emo in the lyrics which makes them meaningful phrases with words revealing feelings of lust, hurt, and escapism.
The track “The Way We Move” is an example of the band’s lyrical style: “She is simply a concept … It’s in the way she moves across the floor / In the way she keeps me waiting for / For what I can’t recall / I’m standing on the edge of broken confidence.” The lyrics don’t have the flamboyancy of many electro-pop outfits, but the band’s music most definitely does. The music is chic with palatial shimmers, like songs you expect to hear at Victoria Secret’s annual fashion show or for the unveiling of the latest model of the Aston Martin used in the next James Bond film as it is presented at an International Car Show. The music is really big and ostentatious with nicely polished patinas.
Dance tracks like “Don’t Stop” and “Heart of Fire” have expansive flourishes and soft inclines. The pulsating rhythms of “The Way We Move” beat at the rate of a pitter-patting heart, while the chunky grooves of “Heart of Fire” produce large craters along the synth loops. The track “Night is Alive” has a dark, ominous ambience as the synth channels build into intense sonic flurries and then withdraws slightly through the verses. The final two tracks “The Lovers Dancing” and “Lovers Dancing (Remix)” take advantage of digital notes that cuff the glaring synth channels and club beats. The remix version incorporates robotic elements while the original text has a more romantic air and elegant fluidity. The sonic arcs and valleys transition from one to the other with a complete ease of flow as the band members seem beacon by a single light and work as a tight unit.
Innerpartysystem’s latest release The Download EP is made up of synthetic fantasy escapes and real-fleshed vocals that bleed and love while bound to a human heart. This combination makes the disc significant in electro-pop sectors. Definitely watch for this music being played in chic clubs and shows where glamour presides. If it’s not, the songs absolutely should be.
Shiny Toy Guns, Hundred Year Storm, Autovaughn, Grand National
myspace.com/innerpartysystem (http://www.myspace.com/innerpartysystem)