MSTRKRFT
The Looks
Last Gang/Modular


Death From Above 1979 offshoot duo MSTRKRFT are probably best known around here for their remix of Wolfmother's Woman, which is a pity, really - it's a pretty dire mix, though some would argue that the old saying about not being able to polish a turd is particularly relevant for how that all turned out. The good news is, the group's debut album - while far from perfect and certainly far from cerebral - is a huge amount of anarchic dance-punk fun right from the start.

Opener and lead single Work On You sets the scene well for what's to come; a sparse and twitchy mix of drum machine and synth that is quickly joined by some gleefully sleek vocodered vocals. The lyrics themselves, as with much of the album, are more than just a little meaningless, but it just emphasises the album's general air of fun.

There's some very slinky keyboard tones and synthesised cowbells in Easy Love - as well as more cheerfully vocodered nonsense - though the female vocals on She's Good For Business pushes the whole thing just a little too far, with an inane refrain of "I gotta shake it to the one/I gotta shake it to the two." Not even a terrifically screechy keyboard solo and handclaps toward the end of the track can resurrect it.

Fortunately, things get much better from there: Paris shoves things in a slightly harder direction, with some great droning synth and cymbal use, and Bodywork has some enchantingly thick keyboard riffs. Overall, there's a feeling that more barriers could have been pushed, but MSRTKRFT seem unashamed at what their album actually is - a hell of a lot of fun. Maybe their next album - already rumoured for release in the next couple of months - will show a more experimental side to the group, but until then 'The Looks' is an album that's very easy to enjoy.

Alistair Wallis