Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

Napoleon IIIrd

Brainlove 7" Club no. 1

Label: Brainlove Records Release Date: 12/06/2006

14377
benmarwood by ben marwood July 5th, 2006

Melodic electronica, how we love thee. The first offering from the Brainlove Records Singles Club scoops songs from Napoleon IIIrd and Pagan Wanderer Lu from the sizzling baking tray and shovels it into our hungry, fat mouths.

Napoleon IIIrd’s ‘Hit Schmooze For Me’ is the audio equivalent of a Magic Eye picture. Initially, it all seems random - voices come at you, pausing after each word, accompanied by a lazy, laid-back and tripped-out beat, imitation brass section and all, before it drops out to let the discordant almost-harmonies of the chorused vocals take the lead. After a while, things take shape, patterns appear as parts are repeated, a chorus is formed, yelled and double-tracked like an irate Tunng at war with his day job. Come the second verse, one line is sung using two different vocal patterns and the results laid over each other, intertwining briefly before an uptempo disco beat brings the whole thing into line, the intricately woven picture complete in proud 3D.

Proudly displaying a multitude of influences, ‘Repetition #1’ begins with folk guitar and finger-plucked chords before a simple Casio rhythm kicks in and xylophone-imitating keyboards sweep over the song’s bridge. Seconds later, Pagan Wanderer Lu hits the button on the ejector seat and the entire thing is replaced by the soundtrack to a coin-op arcade game, with all parts held together through a repeated kick drum in the background. Whether it’s Nintendo-folk, folktronica or Casio-coustic, it sounds like someone gleefully hammering together two pieces of a jigsaw that aren’t supposed to fit, and the song only settles down as Lu’s comforting voice leads out with “When you die, what goes through your mind?” set to the light chords of a keyboard.

Two songs, two snippets of electronica to bother the grey matter: the rest of the singles club has a lot to live up to.

  • 7
    ben marwood's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024


  • Drowned in Sound is back!


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees



Left-arrow

Club Velocity at Rising Sun Arts Centre, Reading, Berkshire, Fri 30 Jun

Mobback
14388
14310

Sennen

Let You Down

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Why Music Journalism Matters in 2024

  • 106145
  • news


    Drowned in Sound is back!

  • 106143

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135
MORE


    Interview


    Ace of Bass: DiS Meets Royal Blood

  • 97097
  • feature


    DiS meets At the Drive-In

  • 12223

    feature


    A Month in Records: August 2008

  • 33467
  • feature


    Nicky Wire on the press, Shirley Bassey, and th...

  • 50002

    Discography Reassessed


    Oeuvre Here: An 18 Album Voyage Through Ringo S...

  • 100438
  • Interview


    Life, Death and Broken Bells - DiS meets James ...

  • 82768

    In Depth


    Fade to black: DiS meets The Horrors

  • 48012
  • feature


    Radiohead's In Rainbows: the fans' verdict

  • 27997
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2025 DROWNED IN SOUND