The Daily Growl

So, the MSTRKFT remix of Chromeo’s Tenderoni was a bit of a hit when I posted it a couple of weeks back. That was before I managed to get a copy of the new Chromeo album on which the original version of that track resides. It’s no surprise then that Fancy Footwork is as good as I’d hoped. Although the MSTRKFT mix rocks it, the original Tenderoni can more than stand on its own two feet. Though ‘standing’ is probably the wrong word to use in a Chromeo review.

After all, this is a party album. Pure and simple. It’s not really there to be analysed or thought of as having any great meaning. It’s just there to move your feet, as the title suggests. If you have any liking for 80s funk, and that includes classic Prince and Michael Jackson, then this is for you. I was going to accuse it of dangerously straddling the line of cheesy pastiche, and sometimes crossing over, but I get the impression that tongues are firmly planted in the cheeks of Dave 1 and Pee Thug, the men behind Chromeo. This is not a record to be taken that seriously. If seriousness is what they’re after, would they have a cover like that? And even though they are doing their bit for international relations, being a successful Arab/Jewish partnership, I don’t think their minds dwell too long on such noble things. I reckon they just want to party.

And that’s the spirit Fancy Footwork should be taken in. Although over the course of 11 tracks it can be too much of the same thing, and although there’s only so much over-the-top guitar solos and smooth sax I can take, I’m prepared to just enjoy it for what it is. Heck, it’s the summer, and who knows, the weather may get warmer. If that happens, take a layer of clothes off, pour yourself a cocktail and slip Chromeo on your CD player / turntable and you’ll be glad you did.

Download: Chromeo – Fancy Footwork
Download: Chromeo – Outta Sight

Buy Fancy Footwork.