CHROMEO - Business Casual

In the pop landscape of the last two or three years, meticulously cloning a certain 80s sound — the one that would later be most "abused", made up of italo-disco, bombastic keyboards, vocoder, "made in Minneapolis" drum machines or improbable guitar solos — has been a rather popular and at times lucrative little game; paradoxically, though, those who were among the first to try it, like Canada's Chromeo, are still waiting to reap the rewards.

Or maybe not, because while La Roux have fun with it, using it as a prop to conjure futuristic landscapes and make a splashy debut, and while the latest Goldfrapp pick it up for a moment to indulge Alison's capricious disco-diva ambitions, P-Thugg and Dave 1, now on their third album, seem to genuinely hold the genre dear, and their stylistic choice really does feel like a heartfelt homage rather than pandering, as if their genetic makeup left them no other option.

The irony with which they approach this revival, along with the sexual innuendo of their lyrics and videos — which clash awkwardly with their nerdy image — are certainly another point in their favour, and keep their output consistently enjoyable; but how much longer can this formula keep entertaining? Undeterred by any of that, they release "Business Casual", three years on from their second effort, "Fancy Footwork", which had slowly established them, single after single, within a certain electronic scene (Tiga, DJ Mehdi…) and had even popped up on MTV. This time, though, there's a sense that the gears, at times, are no longer as well-oiled as they once were (despite the deluxe presence, behind the mixing desk, of Philippe Zdar of Cassius).

Granted, the opening trio of tracks is sparkling and melodically on point, with "Night By Night" (a single already released last winter, accompanied by a memorable video) stealing the show; with the softer, more elegant "Don't Turn The Lights On" they then prove they've learned their lesson perfectly from their guiding lights Hall & Oates (the 80s version, of course, also paid tribute to in "Don't Walk Away" with a flood of synthetic violins) and can therefore work just as well in a more "serious" guise (even if the album's slowest, most romantic moment, "J'ai Claqué La Porte", is perhaps its least brilliant).

Elsewhere, though, it seems more weight is given to the game of references than to how engaging the track is in its own right, and so on a song like "Grow Up" the only purpose one can detect is that of wanting to "get caught" aping Billy Ocean's "When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going"; likewise, Solange Knowles's appearance (the more alternative sister of the famous Beyoncé) on "When The Night Falls" is merely a pretext to take the mind back to when Whitney Houston was Narada Michael Walden's favourite toy, rather than a way to make the most of the guest.

Venial sins, however: this album and, for now, their career seem unwilling to take on any meaning beyond that of a theme party. And whoever decides to join in, without

claiming to witness the most memorable party of the year will have plenty to enjoy.

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19/09/2010