I’d like to think that somewhere in Europe, there is a magical academy for electronic music. It seems that there has been a constant slew of great European electronic bands lately, and Datarock is part of the onslaught.
Album cover from "Red" by Datarock
It’s been four years since Norwegian duo Fredrik Saroea and Ketil Mosnes released their self-titled debut, but on the new album, Red, they pick up where they left off. They make music that is so gloriously 1980s America that it’s hard not to picture a music video with bad choreography and even worse hair when playing their CD.
The album is an ode to 80s hedonism and their influences are transparent from song to song. The opening track “The Blog,” recalls Dev, “Give it Up” is as glittery and glam as a combination of David Bowie and Duran Duran. And “True Stories” is blatantly Talking Heads as they spend most of the song listing off titles to Talking Heads’ songs.
But these aren’t rip-offs, they are wonderful tributes to a simpler time when spandex was cool and creating music simply for dancing was the norm.
The album continues with the aptly name “Dance,” a nod to what made their first album so great. The track is ironic and ridiculous for the sake of it, yet at the same time when they tell you “dancing is everything,” they’re right. There was nothing more that I wanted to do but dance when listening to this song, and for to the whole album for that matter.
A strange trend among electro bands these days seems to be to reference John Hughes and his huge impact on the 1980s. M83 did this most memorably on 2008’s “Saturdays = Youth” and now Datarock has done it with their simply titled track “Molly,” which references none other than Molly Ringwald herself. The image that comes to mind when listening to this obsessive ode to Molly, is that of a delusional teenage boy watching “Pretty in Pink” and wondering when Molly will come to her senses and be with him. This track is brilliant and creepy, and maybe the best on the album.
Red isn’t all over-the-top irony and intense dance beats; “Fear of Death” is one of their most sincere tracks. When Saroea sings “now I’m all yours and forever and ever and ever” in a croon emoting Morrisey, all ironic pretension falls leaving heart at its center.
The references to other 1980s bands could go on forever. “Amarillion” is a definite a nod to a-ha, but comparisons are lacking since Datarock manages to take all these familiar sounds and give them a coat of fresh paint with Saroea’s and Mosnes’ sweet humor and nonsensical lyricism.
Sure, the album can get a little overwhelming, but just try to stop dancing.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jenny Gumbert at jenny.gumbert@colorado.edu.
