a beginner’s guide to...disco-punk
Over the years, there’s been something of a split between those who get their kicks from busting some serious moves, and those who get their kicks from, um, kicking people in mosh pits. For those of you who can’t quite decide which is for them, or those who simply crave a blissful reunion of music fans: go get your guitar and your sampler, disco- punk is here to save you.
OK, so you might have to abandon the plush grandeur of the nightclub and relocate to the grubbiness of your local rock venue, but the rewards are there for all to see. The bands and fans ooze style and cool, the live shows are frenetic and exhilarating (no faceless DJs here), and never, EVER underestimate the power of the cowbell. Three essential albums:
LCD Soundsystem -LCD Soundsystem Frontman James Murphy essentially IS the godfather of disco-punk. Effortlessly dictating the state of play from the comfort of his New York studio, LCD Soundsystem’s debut album combines throbbing disco pulses, thumping basslines and a not inconsiderable obsession with 70s punk, with dangerously danceable results. Try to resist Tribulations at your peril.
The Rapture • Echoes That sad cliché of a band who might have been massive if they weren’t so ahead of their time, The Rapture set out the shape of disco-punk to come in 2003 with this homage to the dancefloor. If it has given us nothing else, House of Jealous Lovers, with a riff so good you can’t help but yelp “SHAKEDOWN!!” as your feet begin to erode from the frantic dancing it inspires.
!!! • Louden Up Now Pronounced by repeating any monosyllabic word not once, not twice, but thrice (most favour “chk chk chk”), !!! specialise in thoroughly filthy funk, spliced with frantic yelping, inexplicable swearing and disco-punk’s everpresent cowbell. Achingly hip and controversial in equal measure.
2nd Feb 2006