[rating=7.00]
UK art rockers Django Django are back with their third album, Marble Skies. The album finds the London-based band expanding further the electro-psych sounds that permeated their first two albums. Django Django have a special ability to take all of their seemingly disparate influences and meld them together to make something all their own, and Marble Skies is no different. Electronica, psychedelic rock and synth-pop are all blend seamlessly together.
The album’s title track starts off the album on a frantic note. The synth-pop sets the tone of the album in that it’s much more straightforward and less spacey pop than previous releases. However, “Surface to Air” – the second track – feels extremely out of place. Not only does it sound like a Latin-pop song with its off tempo beat, but it is sung by Rebecca Taylor of Slow Club, making it sound more like a Shakira song than something written by Django Django. Thankfully, the track is a one-off because the rest of the album feels mostly cohesive. The previously released single, “Tic Tac Toe”, ranks among the best songs released by the band with its reverb drenched background vocals and strong harmonies over solid electro-psych instrumentation. “Sundials” is drenched in sixties style sunny folk-rock with beat interludes that wouldn’t be out of place on a Beta Band record. “Beam Me Up” sounds like an homage to New Order with some signature Django reverb and beats. Another standout track is “Real Gone”, which begins as an instrumental for the first two and a half minutes before singer Vincent Neff begins singing and is met with impeccable harmonies and counter-melodies.
While Marble Skies contains some of the best songs from the quartet, the album is also far from consistent. Yet, their strength has always been in how they bring their songs to life in a live setting. Seeing as how the band has historically spent many years in-between touring in support of a new album, the opportunity to see them live is not to be missed and the material from Marble Skies will definitely add a new element to their shows.
