Artist: Cargo City
Title: Dance/Sleep
Genre: Indie Pop
Release Date: 15th April 2011
Label: Rebecca & Nathan
Album Review
Operating since 2007 and risen to popularity through MySpace CARGO COTY has grown from the mind of Simon Konrad, initially as a solo project but with time the project evolved to a real band that has put out two albums this far, amongst several contributions to scores of German movies. ‘Dance/Sleep’ now is the newest one, kicking off with the title track on a base of creaking electronics and acoustic flourishes to surround clear vocals. The mood shift once the chorus’s threshold’s been crossed is remarkably underscored with the spherical guitar textures woven with the driving drums. A sacral mood is taking hold on the next track ‘Not Like Us’ which is one of those songs made for generating moods you can get lost in, really, supported by a delicate assortment of drums and acoustic guitar. It’s one early highlight of the record. It’s duet time on ‘Let’s Fail in Love’ and it’s getting a darkly glowing duet while dark wouldn’t suit ’The Choir’ at all as grief is more than just dark. That song is what should be played as backdrop to a documentary about death, about funeral rituals in society around here as it’s reflecting the mood perfectly.
On ‘Julian’, a lovely little indie pop song, the inherent electronics of the band’s sound gain the upper hand of the rhythmic structure while melancholy vocals, bell-like sounds and pervasive acoustic sprinkles add the backdrop. I’m honest, by the way the rhythm unfolded first on ‘Smile At Me’ I felt reminded of one of those ¾ waltz tracks of IAMX; then Simon’s chant turns it into a straighter direction while floating on layers of interlocking melodies moving towards a rhythm driven by soft power. ‘The Tale Of A Careless Man’ is simply put classic singer/songwriter material with beauty lying in simplicity, and I’m much of a fan of those kinds of tracks. Listening to the ultimate track of the album ‘Life In Reverse’ will take you back from too modern sonic fashion. It’s kind of lo-fi in a way and it keeps up tension in never really erupting, but making you think it’s about to.
The most striking attribute on ‘Dance/Sleep’ is that there’s a lot of very dark moods contained in many of the album’s songs. Much darker than those I remember from the sophomore release. The second one is the growth of dynamics in many of the songs. This is when the moods meld with the arrangements and rather surface subtly than dominating all and everything as they do on ‘The Choir’ for instance. The tension between those two poles is what’s making the album a round and convincing thing that deserves credit and a recommendation.
Tracklist
01. Dance/Sleep - 3:59
02. Not Like Us - 5:23
03. Let's Fail In Love - 3:52
04. The Choir - 5:22
05. Julian - 4:41
06. Walk Over The Alps - 3:58
07. Smile At Me - 4:46
08. The Tale Of The Careless Man - 5:39
09. All That You Need - 3:39
10. Life In Reverse - 4:48
Line-Up
Simon Konrad
Nadine Renneisen
Rafael Früh
Thomas Scharf
Felix Mannherz
Website
http://www.cargocitymusic.com / http://www.facebook.com/Cargocity
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 9
Extras: -
Total: 8.5 / 10
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