The Penelope[s] - Priceless Concrete Echoes Review
Posted by Vanessa Willoughby on 09.19.2009
Meet The Penelope[s]: the next electronica, New Wave throwback, French sensation. But is the band destined to remain an unfortunate aftermath of a bygone decade, like crimped hair and hammer pants?
TRACK LISTING:
1. Stuck In LalaLand
2. Demian
3. Licked By Love
4. Circle of Seasons
5. Saved
6. Joey Santiago
7. Sabotage
8. Long Black Fly
9. The Heat Goes On
10. Concrete
11. Your Plan For Happiness
The Penelope[s] may not be for everyone, but any band that’s able to twist and morph a classic Beastie Boys song into a psychedelic, Fat Boy Slim-esque, French electronic explosion is one that’s worth giving a chance. Fortunately, the band’s innovative cover of “Sabotage” is just one of the noteworthy tracks on Priceless Concrete Echoes. There seems to be something about the band that not only appeals to their peers in the music business, but the fashion industry as well. Perhaps it’s the band’s obvious adoration of hard-hitting, bass-driven melodies or their ability to mix and mash the signature sounds of Techno, Disco and New Wave. After all, both provide the appropriate sort of soundtrack for slack-jawed, lithe models to stalk down the runway. Nevertheless, noted French designer Agnès b. immediately took The Penelope[s] under her wing. The band played at various fashion shows in Paris and Tokyo, as well as other musical projects that she commissioned. Naturally, gaining the adoration of a famous designer isn't the band's only claim to a quickly rising fame.
Composed of Alex Basquiat (vocals, composition) and Vincent Tremei (textures, processing, production), the band members met in high school in the suburbs of Paris. After releasing their first single in 2005, they caught the ears of DJ Hell, who decided to put out their next production on his own label. In 2006, the band released their debut album, The Arrogance of Simplicity. After hooking up with Agnès b., lyrically collaborating with novelist Chloe Delamue and playing various European festivals, the band has returned to the studio and created their newest album, Priceless Concrete Echoes.
The Penelope[s] may conjure connotations to similar bands like Air, M83 or Passion Pit. However, their sound isn’t so much of a knock-off but equal parts homage, deconstruction, and reinvention. With bands and artists delving in the electronic and techno field, there’s always the risk of producing tracks that are clearly too infatuated with the electronics themselves. That is, what was once a great merger of vocals and ethereal keyboard arrangements is quickly transformed into a dizzy mess of too many effects piled over flimsy vocals.
The first song, “Stuck In LaLaland” can certainly be described as falling on the “dreamy” side, but it doesn’t come across as lethargic or dull. A repeated chord provides the backbone for the song’s arrangement, with the ever-present thumping of the bass. Basquiat’s husky vocals seem to compliment the music like a silk ribbon threaded through fabric. The track is an accurate reflection of The Penelope[s]’ overall sound, which is too much of a mosaic of past and present to write off as a 80s caricature. Clocking in at nearly five minutes, “Stuck In LaLaland” seduces the listener and provides an appropriate transition into the second track, “Demian.”
With guest vocals by Dierdre, “Demian” shakes off the dreamer’s complacency. Once again, the bass dominates without being distracting. Dierdre’s mesmerizing voice matches the pulsating rhythm and creates an interesting juxtaposition after following the male-backed vocals on the first track. Inspired by the Hermann Hesse novel, the lyrics and the overall musical arrangement evoke the emotional psyche of the novel’s protagonist, a young, German boy named Sinclair. The song isn’t so much about generating a musical copy of Hesse’s character, but reflecting the novel’s existential themes and emotional turmoil. Whether or not you’ve read the novel, the song is such a separate entity within itself that it won’t taint your opinion of it.
The third track, “Licked by Love,” features Morpheus, who also appeared as a guest vocalist on the first track. With this song, the keyboard is much more prominent than as heard in the two previous tracks, bringing to mind a curious assortment of old and new bands: Echo and the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, A-Ha, M83, Air and Maps.
Once again, despite the immediate connotations to the 80s New Wave scenes, The Penelope[s] exercise enough constraint so that their tracks don’t come across as lukewarm, recycled leftovers. The lyrics themselves are nothing off-the-wall or peppered with literary allusions. Morpheus and Basquiat confront the highs and lows of romance, singing, “Sometimes it treats you rough, and then it makes you rough, you’ve just been kicked by love.” Not exactly the soul-shattering an example of soul-shattering, lyrical revelations, but the frank simplicity of the words and the infectiousness of the beat make that part irrelevant.
“Licked by Love” effortlessly segue ways into “Circle of Seasons,” which adopts a tone of wistful longing. Ironically enough, despite the repeated phrase of it (whatever it is), being “so brutal,” brutal is the last word to associate with the song. Brutal is much too harsh an adjective, as the imagery that arises from the combination of both the lyrics and the musical arrangement revolves around pensive yearning and quiet suffering. In other words, the song would make quite the perfect addition to a John Hughes Brat Pack drama, preferably one that involves a considerable amount of angst and stars Molly Ringwald pining for An Out-Of-Reach Dream Boat.
Following “Circle of Seasons,” “Saved” appears to be a suitable remedy for all of the electronic-fueled angst that was stewing in the previous track. The slow, almost sleepy enunciation of the lyrics contributes to the overall mood of ease and placidity. In terms of the arrangement itself, it’s truthfully not that different from the preceding four tracks. There’s a heavy emphasis on bass and liberal usage of keyboard and synthesizer, which purposefully suggests a connection to both the state of today’s indie/alternative scene and the pop and New Wave era of the 80’s.
However, with The Penelope[s] it’s not so much about drastically dismantling and reworking concepts from track to track. Rather, the band seems to view the album as a whole, thinking about the overall flow and the mood and tone passed down from song to song. This is what allows the album and the songs to recall earlier genres and movements in music without feeling dated or monotonous.
“Joey Santiago” is probably the most, if not one of the most obvious results of New Wave influence. From the drone-like synthesizer and the consistent, steady thumping of the bass, it dusts off the almost melancholy spell cast by “Circle of Seasons” and “Saved.” This is a song meant for dancing; the entire 4 minutes and 21 seconds of the song is free of Basquiat’s vocals.
At first glance, the seventh track may appear totally out of place. What’s a Beastie Boys’ cover doing on a French indie/electronic album? But sometimes it’s the most unlikely of bands that take a classic song and pleasantly turn it upside down. Placing “Sabotage” after “Joey Santiago” turns out to be a smart move, as the later acts as a preview to the entirely electronic-fueled sound of the track. Initially, it’s kind of jarring to hear the chorus layered with a French accent.
Yet, by placing the song within a new musical context, it not only shows the strength of the original artist, but shows that The Penelope[s] are innovative in their own right. Whereas the Beastie Boys’ version had a much more rock-influence, The Penelope[s] take it in the opposite direction. What ensues is not so much a softening of the original sound, but preserving it through an unexpected filter.
Proceeding “Sabotage,” “Long Black Fly” features Morpheus for the third time. The hard-hitting bass of “Sabotage” is carried over, which often covers up the somewhat bizarre lyrics.
“The Heat Goes On,” featuring Morpheus for the fourth and last time, is probably the only time where The Penelope[s] mistakenly dismiss the restraint that they observed throughout the rest of the album. The chorus is somewhat bogged down by conflicting electronic arrangements, which creates an unwanted cacophony of noise.
The final track, “Your Plan For Happiness,” reminds the listeners that despite some of the album’s imperfections, Priceless Concrete Echoes is a notable sophomore effort produced by a promising act. It bears all of the elements of New Wave, mixed with a little je nous se qua and an unexpected laugh-track looping that probably wouldn’t make the least bit of sense anywhere else.
The 411: Although The Penelope[s] pay a lot of tribute to their predecessors, Priceless Concrete Echoes is a pretty solid album that exercises the necessary restraint to keep the band from drifting into strictly caricature or laughably recycled territory. There's certainly a sort of grandiose quality about the sound of the album, from the incessant and zealous usage of the bass to the unmistakably pulse of the synth. It's an album that appeals to club kids and indie worshipers alike.
