I realized recently that I embraced the idea of pop music far earlier than I knew. I’m not talking about poptimism – that’s a discussion for another time. I’m talking about music that wholesale revels in the tropes, meters, and arrangements of the genre while also pushing them to the nth degree. In fact, wide swathes of my favorite indie-pop acts from the ‘00s and ‘10s were far more versed in creating danceable three-minute tunes than their average hipster fans would admit.
It’s further proof of the cyclical nature of art. It’s OK to borrow from the past, but you must push into the future.
Let’s use the music of audiobooks as a current example of this concept. Evangeline Ling and David Wrench have been creating skewed and inverted pop songs for a few years now. By fusing Ling’s snide vocal stylings to Wrench’s caustic production aesthetic, a blown-out, maximalist brand of electro-pop emerged.
On Astro Tough, their brand-new album on Heavenly Recordings, the duo send those sentiments soaring into the stratosphere. The result is 10 sleek and slinky songs pulsing with heady energy. Imagine Jamie xx and Caribou working with Charli XCX or The Eurythmics joining forces with Goldfrapp and Deerhoof, and you might have an idea of the clever pop wizardry on display.
I’m bowled over by the inventive production and intricate sonic layers.
Everything appears clean, taut, and shiny on the surface, right down to the sort of instrumentation common with indie electro bands. But when you peel things back a bit, you marvel at the group’s kinetic fury and rambunctious ambition.
Nearly every audiobooks song is built upon a two-chord pulse pulled right out of the Krautrock playbook. Wrench then folds in sharp snare claps, squishy bass thumps, angled guitar phrasing, and bouncy synth chords. Ling enters the fray with heaps of clever attitude, as her slyly aggressive lyrics regularly border on the absurd. She easily holds my attention despite it sounding like she’s pummeling your ears with strings of wacky non sequiturs.
With “Lalala It’s the Good Life,” a crackling snare, zippy pace, and gooey synth serve as the stage for Ling’s frenetic energy as she trampolines around the song. The mood immediately slows down on “The English Manipulator,” as Ling creakily croons over a tripping bass line and spaced-out keyboard arpeggios.
My favorite track on the album, “First Move” evinces the glory days of ‘80s art-pop, right down to the cavernous tom rolls on the drums, breathy lead vocals, and shimmering synth pads. “Black Lipstick” places you in the middle of a seedy dance floor well after midnight, as a creeping techno groove flirts shamelessly with the urgent melodic phrasing hammered out on the keys.
In short, audiobooks has crafted cheeky, ebullient synth-pop without artifice.
They know just when to ramp up the weirdness and crank up the danceability. Sure, Ling and Wrench give off airs of being gauche dilettantes creating over-the-top electro-clash. However, Astro Tough reveals a group much more interested in creating fun pop music that rejects comfy ideas.
By refusing to rely solely on upbeat bangers, the twosome can inject lingering darkness that flavors the entire listening experience. That subtle subversion of pop expectations provides the true staying power of their music. It allows them to rise above a mere reinvention of the ‘00s dance-punk created by labels like DFA Records and strike out on their own path.
Both audiobooks band photos courtesy of Rachel Lipsitz.