Sweet Trip have never made much sense to me, and they make even lesswith this record. It's always been too much a sound drenched in theDaft Punk motif for me, and this record continues in that vein. Denseelectronics swirl and build towards an aural climax only to berepeatedly foiled throughout by premature earjaculation, where theeardrums give out or the cerebral cortex just gives up. Sure, I guessall the right elements are there, with the clever arrangements by Robyand pure saccharine vocals by Valerie Reyes, but it's nothingearth-shattering or even noteworthy that hasn't been traveled before bybetter artists. There's a blatant largesse in these songs, whereeverything is louder than it should be, has more going on than isneeded, and takes way too long to end something that probably was bestnot even beginning. As annoying as Daft Punk are ("One More Time,"anyone?), they seem to know when to call it quits or to keep it short.Not Sweet Trip, on the other hand, who feature three songs over theeight minute mark with one honorable mention at two seconds shy, and Ican't even tell you one part I liked on them. "Velocity" shivers andshakes too much to get where it's going, and then when it gets there itfeels like dancehall trash. "International" languishes, bleeding like astuck pig, waiting for an inspiration of meaning, only to result tocut-up vocals and beats that sounded better when Dntel or Four Tet didthem. And "Sept" is only rendered interesting by the fantastic tablawork by guest Aaron Porter; after that, it's fairly by the bookelectronic indie pop, but goes on far too long for its own good.Elsewhere, the jarring Europop of "Dsco" sounds like Robbie Williamsand Sophie Ellis Bextor's ugly offspring, and "To All the Dancers..."sounds like a cheap imitation of some of Björk's best remixes. Stillnot clear to me, but not dead to me just yet.Read More
