TIM PARIS - ALBUM REVIEW

Tim Paris - Dancers (My Favourite Robot Records) 
Tim Paris - Dancers

Release Date: 24th March 2014

I have a cousin called Tim. He teaches European History to American kids. That, to me, kinda fits but 'Tim' as a dance artist's name doesn't really do it. But hey, what's in a name? From Marseille, living in London and called Paris, Tim gets straight down to business with 'Golden Ratio (feat. Georg Levin)' which features pounding drums, throbbing bass and vocals that wouldn't be out of place on a Hot Chip or LCD Soundsystem record. 'Rain (feat. Coco Solid)' has an addictively infectious thrum to it which, when combined with the electro vocals, makes for something quite lovely. Recent single 'Outback, Stones & Vinyl' has what is fast becoming a typical 'Tim Paris' sound with subtly relentless drums and slow building layers of melodies made of electronic and organic instrumentation.

There is an element of prog about Paris' music as he builds tunes up from low hums to gyrating beasts of funky proportions. 'Minireich (feat. Sex Judas and Rupert Cross)' is an 80s industrial disco tune which is disturbingly alluring while 'Disco Ellipse' feels like a dance tune performed using computers that still use floppy discs which gets pretty funky by the time it climaxes. There is a darkly, seductive sensation building within 'Unsung Deaf Hero' that never quite reaches a crescendo as you hope it might but 'The Grip (feat Ben Shemie)' takes things up to another level as the beats insistently march on and you can almost imagine Pink Floyd-esque animation behind the music.

This album seems to get less like a band and more electro as it evolves which puts Paris in the same part of the Venn diagram as James Murphy or Beck. 'Extreme Nails' is, for me, the stand out track on the album as it combines a dirty, growling bass line with irresistible beats and undulating melodies. Having said that, the punk guitars and heraldic horns that open 'You'll Never Know' are pretty neat and 'Heaven Parking (feat Sex Judas)' could easily be heard drifting from a futuristic monastery where our friend Sex Judas is the grand high priest. The album closes with 'Backseat Reflexion (feat Forrest)' which is an oddly dissonant but nevertheless appealing piece of indie disco that Bloc Party would be proud of. This is the kind of music that should and will be heard wafting out of trendy bars from Hoxton to Barcelona this summer so you had better start practicing your slow hip sway now. Or risk looking like a complete tool.


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