I can remember the day that 'Polydistortion' was released, and it seemed like a whole new bridge between experimental electronic, post-rock, dance music and indie rock was built, as well as a foundation for a wave of Icelandic electronic music to flourish. I wouldn't have to bring up the group's breakthrough debut if I didn't feel it necessary to assure any reader that this was, at one point, a truly incredible collective. At the time, Gus Gus consisted of nine people: three singers, four musicians and two responsible for visuals. The music varied from pumping dance beats to slower-paced tunes, percussion-free ballads and shining instrumental tracks, all with a subtle twist of dementia to keep the sound from ever being mundane or tired. Their songs equally utilized everything in their ability, without over-saturating the mix. In the five years since, the group has gone through lineup changes, record label changes, and is now primarily a dance band. While the band's lyrics were never something to write home about, in the past they were at least somewhat off-center and interesting to listen to. On 'Attention,' the lyrics are both painful and repeated unnecessarily. Their new female singer lacks a true identity which separates her from a generic singer in a gay discoteque. On certain songs like "David," the music is so forceful, it almost doesn't matter but on songs like the opener "Unnecessary," it's bordering on unbearable. There are some highlights, however, like the guest vocal track from former singer Daniel Ágúst on the Gareth Jones-prodced "Desire," and the slower-paced hopping beats of "Attention" would make it a perfect jam were it not for the vocals. After the first few tracks, the rest of this disc tapers off into even more generic territory and while I can't say it's not pleasant, it's simply not the Gus Gus most people fell in love with.
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