2006.09.29

Tracking Faster Pussycats Down

Posted in Music at 8:56 pm by Jeremiah Wittevrongel

I came home from work today to discover a few presents in my mailbox from Amazon.

First up, is Paul Oakenfold‘s A Lively Mind. Even though it’s been panned in the reviews, I think it’s a solid disc. It’s got a lot of rock influence, and is less edgy than his previous stuff, so it’s probably a little more accessible to the pop/dance crowd. In that sense, it’s a little reminiscent of some of BT‘s work (Movement in Still Life in particular), and also reminds me in some ways of The Crystal Method‘s Tweekend, though not as heavy. Maybe this is why it got panned – it doesn’t sound quite as fresh at first blush, but if you dig a little deeper, it’s fresher than you might expect. Mash-ups are heading more mainstream, and the rock/techno thing is pretty hot right now, so this CD seems to be following that trend rather well.

Now I’m just waiting for someone to do the obvious mash-up – the one which could only be titled “Faster Kill Pussycat Dolls”.

The only real criticism I have is that the disc doesn’t flow as well as it could, partly because there’s several different styles on the CD. If you view it as a collection of singles, though, it shines.

Second is Gabriel & Dresden‘s self-titled effort, which sticks a little more to one musical style. This disc flows well as a continuous mix, though some of the tracks are a little undifferentiated from the others. Overall it’s another fairly solid disc. The vocals are pretty well done and add to the overall vocal-trancey feel that continues across the whole set. Parts of the disc remind me of Tiësto‘s mixes or Way Out West (from Intensify). These tracks also might be a little more DJ-friendly than Okie’s tracks, for those DJs who tend towards a straightforward trance/house/breaks format.

And you’ve probably already heard a couple of the songs on the CDs – Okie’s Faster Kill Pussycat is all over the dance airwaves these days, and so is G&D’s Tracking Treasure Down. Bottom line is you can dance your ass off to either of these CDs and have a great time doing it, and that’s what it’s really all about.