JAMES PANTS - James Pants

Bizarre, that's James Pants. Bizarre, and a fish out of water on Chris Manak's label, an imprint steeped entirely in vintage samples and crate-dug Blackness. On his fifth time around, the most unpredictable guy on the L.A. label's roster takes a further step forward in his own personal retro layering of sound structures: frazzled electro, disco-funk alienated to the bone ("A Little Bit Closer") and jagged new wave delivered via toy synthesizers and irreverent little tunes.

In short, after trying to unsettle longtime fans with the thoroughly uninspired EP "New Tropical", a sort of botched pseudo-rap muddle, James Singleton (his real name) retreats for good into a psychedelic electro-wave permanently cast toward the Eighties, showing himself perfectly attuned to the vague yet hypnotic flavors and sounds of the Meravigliosi.

"James Pants" is a record that's by turns neurotic and gleefully possessed, by turns veiled in a satisfying melancholy. The irresistible big keyboard sound of "Screms Of Passion" is precisely an act of devotion to the synthetic sound and atmospheres of the era. While "Incantation" emulates an analog undertow of melodic effusions in the wake of hypnagogic pop, "Strange Girl" and "Darlin'" would have made the celebrated firm of Vega/Martin salivate back in their heyday. But that's not all. The self-titled record carries on through its second half just as impertinent and disorienting, see the goofy little romp of "These Girls", the sudden dreamy braking of "Dreambot" and the synthetic flight of "Epilogue" bringing things full circle. Good. If this is Mr. Pants' definitive turning point, bring on further explorations down the line.

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03/07/2011