CD - Fujiya & Miyagi: LIGHTBULBS

Whether it’s in the precision-rolled r’s that pop up now and then or in the general lyrical cheekiness (any track that name drops Hans Christian Anderson is a-ok by me), there’s a real sense of fun that pervades Lightbulbs. It’s all helped along by the punchy, tight production and deadpan vocals of David Best, who somehow manages to make the lyric “Stella Artois mixed with a beef burger” (‘Goosebumps’) come across as convincing.
 
Instrumention is often sparse, as in the too-cool strutter 'Uh', but what's there is all very thumping and deliberate. In that sense, it's all pretty familiar territory to their 2006's Transparent Things, and even when Lightbulbs does get off that track, it’s a welcome departure; ‘Sore Thumbs’ and the spacey ‘Goosebumps’ are prime examples.
 
Lightbulbs is infectious, anthemic electronica - the kind of music that seems to make sense anywhere it’s played, whether it be in a lonely room alone or in a room full of wild dancing ingrates. Think a Flight of the Conchords sound without the drawback of being an unashamed novelty, and you’re batting in the same ballpark. 
 

 

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