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By Rudy Klapper, February 7, 2011 8:00 am

Cut Copy – Zonoscope

Modular 2011

Rating: 6/10

It’s never been that hard to make dance music. Be competent with a synthesizer, be able to craft a reasonably bouncy melody, and make sure that four on the floor bump absolutely kicks, and you have a fairly decent chance of being able to make those feet move and the dollars flow in. Music in the second half of the ‘00s could very well said to be overly saturated with acts looking to cash in on the electro war that “D.A.N.C.E.” fired the first shot in, something that makes the cover of Cut Copy’s third album Zonoscope, New York City on the verge of being submerged by a massive waterfall, more than a bit ironic. But Cut Copy always seemed like they were playing electro less because it was in and more because, well, they were the best at it. In Ghost Colours was a classic in the genre because it had that which most of its compatriots scoffed at, namely substance and a depth that rewarded multiple listens. On its surface, Zonoscope is not that much different from what Cut Copy have staked their sound on. There’s a prevalence of synths and various bleeps and bloops that remind you the ‘80s never really died, Dan Whitford’s eternally optimistic, soulful tenor singing day-glo tenets like “all you need is a dream and a lover, too,” and hooks that don’t quit.

For all the similarities, though, Zonoscope nevertheless seems like a simpler record. First single “Where I’m Going” is a wonderful slice of Beach Boys-esque pop, but little else. The dark soundscapes and edgy instrumentals that occasionally broke up In Ghost Colours and made it such a fascinating journey are nixed, while otherwise solid electro pop tunes like “Pharaohs & Pyramids” and “Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat” are cheapened by sound effects and synthesizers that sound like they were recorded on an ancient Casio. Indeed, Zonoscope is at its best where it strips things down to the bare bones of songwriting, something Whitford and company long ago proved masters of. The one-two punch of “Need You Now” and “Take Me Over” is a combo most electro bands would kill for; Cut Copy toss it off effortlessly and then mask those same superb pop sensibilities with weak effects and distracting melodies that take away from the central hooks on a song like “Blink And You’ll Miss The Revolution.” Then they’ll be a song like “This Is All We’ve Got,” all hazy vibes and gorgeous guitar, and you’ll question why they felt the need to add those awful bass squelches to “Corner of the Sky” or why they decided to make “Sun God” essentially a fifteen-minute rave wank fest.

Of course, it’s tough to fault Zonoscope for sounding so dated right out of the box, because Cut Copy’s songwriting is really as strong as ever. Sure, there’s nothing as immediate as “Hearts on Fire” or as simply affecting as “Unforgettable Season,” but “Take Me Over” and “Alisa” are acceptable, if not fully satisfying, substitutes. The effortless transition that the drone of “Strange Nostalgia For The Future” brings to the cheesy bounce of “Blink And You’ll Miss The Revolution” and the post-punkish “This Is All We’ve Got” is the kind of bridge that regularly made In Ghost Colours such a complete album. Zonoscope is no less complete; rather, it seems like a lesser shade of its predecessor, the kind of album Cut Copy could make in their sleep but lacking that transcendent quality that has so many similar bands swinging and missing. Great songs are a dime a dozen, and Cut Copy, frankly, are amassing a wealth of their own with tunes like the eleven here. It’s the great albums that are a little more elusive.

Cut Copy – “This Is All We’ve Got”

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By Rudy Klapper, August 27, 2010 8:00 am

In Ghost Colours is one of my favorite CDs of the past decade – needless to say, I’m pretty excited for Cut Copy’s upcoming release. “Where I’m Going” tones down the group’s trademark electro for a Beach Boys vibe that’s perfect for the dog days of summer.

Cut Copy – “Where I’m Going”

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By Rudy Klapper, August 6, 2009 12:00 pm

Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours

Modular 2008

Rating: 10/10

Original Release Date: 03/22/08

The indie scene’s love affair with dance music has always been an iffy proposition – from the two-step shuffle commonly associated with scenesters at concerts to the fairly awkward relationship many fans have with “cool” (read: hip, Pitchfork-approved, etc.) dance-rock, it’s always been difficult to correspond “indie” to “dance” or vice versa. With the recent upswing in dance-oriented groups and accompanying critically-acclaimed albums like Hot Chip, Justice, and LCD Soundsystem, it’s become okay, nay, necessary for fans formerly just fine with a four-piece rock band to kick out the DJ sets and neon shirts and actually move those Doc Martens.

The resulting over-saturation of electro-pop, techno-lite music has become impossible to ignore and even harder to tolerate, and so it’s refreshing to hear a record like Australian group Cut Copy’s sophomore effort In Ghost Colours, an album so unabashedly fun and free of postmodern irony that it’s an almost unreasonably good time. A heady blend of ‘80s-tinged synth pop, whirling atmospheric electronica, and frothy, carefree pop, it’s music that holds itself above no one and caters to everyone. And as you can guess, it’s pretty damn catchy too.

It’s all there on opener “Feel The Love,” where a squelching burst of keyboards attached to a robust drum beat feeds into a guitar strumming along in major-key bliss while synths soar overhead, the bass pumps out a slinky disco groove and vocalist Dan Whitford’s unassuming tenor holds it all together. Sounds like a lot? It is, and it’s true of In Ghost Colours in general. The record is a massive pastiche of musical styles, a neon-bright watercolor of ‘80s new wave, rave-ready dance, and sunny pop melodies that keep everything nicely packed together into four-minute slices of old and new.

Producer Tim Goldworthy of DFA deserves much of the credit. He works seemingly effortless magic here, from the moody house jam of “Lights and Music” to the psychedelic space rock of “So Haunted” to the trippy, slow-jam mega-hit (in Australia, at least) “Hearts On Fire,” infusing the band’s disparate styles into a vigorous whole. Acoustic guitar and studio drums mesh unobtrusively with synthesizers and all manner of stereo effects, a gleaming array of instruments that rise and fall with Whitford’s vocals but never overwhelm or clash. The sequencing is particularly well thought-out, separating many of the full tracks with one-minute mood pieces that enhance rather than detract from the record’s flow and make fifteen tracks enjoyable rather than painfully long.

Perhaps the album’s strongest point is its ability to take and borrow from dozens of influences, yet never come off as overly derivative or mere hacks, as so many of their scene peers have. “Far Away” is a sinfully catchy new wave piece that sounds like it was pulled out of a time machine from 1985, yet the splashes of live drumming, Whitford’s not-too-little, not-too-much vocals and clattering synth breakdown are entirely ‘00s. “So Haunted” calls to mind a more optimistic Interpol, one with a penchant for suddenly uprooting their droning guitar for a brighter, keyboard-friendly chorus.

Even better, In Ghost Colours is full of genuine songs – forget dance-rock bands that catapult onto the scene with one smash hit and an album of filler. The sexy guitar pulse and spiraling chorus of “Nobody Lost, Nobody Found;” the out-of-left-field country-rock gem “Strangers In The Wind;” the cheerfully anthemic “Unforgettable Season;” this is a record that leaves a lasting impression and an overwhelming desire to go through it again, as a whole.

It’s rare to find a collection of songs like In Ghost Colours, particularly in a genre and era where it’s practically impossible to find something that hasn’t been done before. Cut Copy are not revolutionaries of the dance-rock world, and the last thing In Ghost Colours has done is create something new and wholly original. Rather, it’s an eclectic effort that is an excellent example of painstakingly refined craftsmanship; a purely pop album meticulously put together for maximum summer enjoyment, yet one that loses nothing in immediacy or creativity. A vibrant amalgam that will no doubt prove as timeless as pop music itself, it not only makes it okay to dance, it makes it fucking righteous.