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Simian Mobile Disco

Extra Temporary EP

(Wichita; US: 28 Feb 2010; UK: Import)

The first characteristic of Extra Pleasure that any listener will notice is that all six of these tracks (five of them original, one a remix) are instrumental. If they are what one would assume they are—excised tracks from the previous LP’s recording sessions—the exclusion is no small wonder: Simian Mobile Disco’s major move was to fashion that album as a sort of hipster-house all-star vehicle. The result was, aside from standout tracks like “Bad Blood”, featuring Hot Chip’s inimitable Alexis Taylor, and the tongue-tied “Cream Dream”, a collection of tepid dance-pop that paled in the shadow of the go-for-broke maximalism of Basement Jaxx’s Scars.


The sinister electro-funk of “Belvedere” and “Are You in the Picture?” will therefore be refreshing for those who sang in the chorus of backlash. Opener “Flea in Your Ear” shimmers, but everything else here recalls the kind of sweaty, pounding, labor-of-love Detroit techno that was so serious it was even political (see: Drexciya). That Simian Mobile Disco is capable of this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who liked breakthrough single “It’s the Beat”, which seemed channeled in from another planet where Tony Humphries was king. “Babaghanoush” might strike some as repetitive—even brazenly so, considering it ends halfway through only to take a deep breath and restart with heavier bass and noisier synths—but isn’t that the point? Between this and Temporary Pleasure, this is the better dance party at generous 41 minutes, and sometimes, that’s all that really matters.

Rating:

Benjamin is a cineaste, pop pushover, amateur Twitter comedian, and lover of all things pretentious from the affluent swamplands of Princeton, New Jersey. Nestled happily in the moist cocoon of post-graduate work at Northwestern University, he writes on music in his fleeting spare time and should probably be ignored at all costs.


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Related Articles
16 May 2012
Simian Mobile Disco's attempt at a headphones record, after making a name for themselves as blog-house practitioners, is marred by aloof monotony.
1 Feb 2011
Delicacies proves that Simian Mobile Disco are one of the best electronic acts currently working, and a welcome antidote to that LCD Soundsystem crap (yes, I just said that).
25 Oct 2010
A relentlessly engaging assault on the dancefloor, this mix CD promotes Simian Mobile Disco's current gig doing NYC's Fixed parties. This just in: Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry is still cooler than you'll ever be.
By PopMatters Staff
12 Aug 2010
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