CD Review – The Histronic – Self Titled
by Sean Brown
There are those who can dance. Those who can really find the beat and move with the music, bumping and grinding or just hopping around with a passion and a purpose; those who make it look good. Those are the kids at the shows and the clubs who tend to get the party started, they don’t even need the aid of some good strong drinks, they’re naturals. And then there are the rest of us. Slightly awkward, sort of uncoordinated, definitely a little less than confident, we need to be shown the way. Luckily, Minneapolis three man electronic jam band The Histronic has the rest of us covered.
Kevin Dorsey aka West Fox, Gill “the Escrooger” Finn, and Stereo Adik came together to form The Histronic in early 2007, recently releasing the group’s first album, also titled The Histronic. Sort of jam band hipster dance music, there is no denying its toe-tapping power. The album kicks off upbeat and smooth with A Dream for Lenny, a song that does well to preview each of the musicians individual talents while setting the listener up for a head bobbing adventure that continues throughout the rest of the album.
I really enjoyed the fourth track on the record, Mage, which starts out with a Ray Manzarek type keyboard intro reminiscent of the Doors’ finest. Following up Mage comes Oedipus, which has a much more mellow overall tone and also the only lyrics on the album, think early Royksopp. Next up is Pelican Bay which starts out so slow and heavy, you almost expect to hear hip hop vocals over the beat, but then it builds and builds before melting into a more traditional drum and bass type track. I dare you not to dance to this song. Phat Cat keeps the bass line heavy, adding more of an R&B funk type flavor with solid organ play towards the end.
Possibly the best song on the album comes towards the end in Wicked Ghosts. As the name implies, this song carries a spooky vibe exemplified by a classic organ and spooky Halloween type effects. A raw distortion noise gives the song a heavier feel, I’d like to see it incorporated into next year’s Zombie Pub Crawl.
An excellent debut album by an up and coming Minneapolis electronic band guaranteed to make even those too cool for anything besides shallow head bobbing cut loose on the dance floor.
Filed under: Music Reviews
