Review: Todd Terje - It's Album Time
[Olsen; 2014]
Rating: 6.5/10 By Megan Fair, General Manager
Key Tracks: “Johnny and Mary (ft. Bryan Ferry),” “Inspector Norse”
Disco is not dead, and neither are DJs who know how to have fun. Todd Terje (pronounced Tar-ee-ay) knows how to throw a party, and he’s been turning the heads of many before even dropping It’s Album Time, his first full-length to date. Rolling Stone even named him one of 25 DJs who rule the world. The cleverly titled record drips excess, fun and images of disco parties and roller skating.
The album, save for two tracks, is instrumental, but is still interesting even without a voice to carry the music. The music itself is deeply layered, rarely hollow and full of smart little touches that keep the sound fresh and entertaining.
“Preben Goes to Acapulco” conjures up images of a fella cruising down the street in a leisure suit with a perfect floral button up (only buttoned to the navel of course). The good sir is probably finding his way to the nearest club to shake his groove thang, or maybe he’s just cruising so people can see how great he looks.
“Svensk Sås” is a melange of Primus, disco and Spanish flair. The trumpets, use of vocals as instruments instead of vehicles for lyrics and the clap track make it perfect for live performance. It’s a modern update on disco that will entertain electronic-club kiddos worldwide.
The pre-released single “Delorean Dynamite” is spacious and groovy, and the electronic harp-esque sounds and driving 16th-note high-hat rhythm keeps a head bobbing or an ass shaking. The track dips between overtly retro and modern in terms of electronic sound. This is by far the track most obviously designed for live performances. It’s long enough and contains enough movements to keep a crowd fully immersed and constantly moving.
“Inspector Norse” isn’t a new track by any means, as Terje has used it in the club circuit for years, but it feels so fresh and it’s everything that house music should be. Though elements of the track are repetitive, it’s designed to ensure that every single person listening to the track is having a riotous good time.
One of the absolute best songs, “Johnny and Mary (ft. Bryan Ferry),” is a cover. Terje has remixed other Robert Palmer tracks, but this song really takes the cake. It’s a prom-slow dance-banger-brownie with Ferry’s smoky vocals serving as the incredibly rich peanut butter icing. It doesn’t feel cheesy and is quite an earworm.
Some tracks were certainly missteps; for example, the sporadically changing “Leisure Suit Preben” feels a bit like listening to a kid try to show off in band class using the premade beats and some freestyling on a keyboard. There are moments of eeriness and intrigue, and the use of vibraphone is a treat, but it lacks the spark of fun that makes Terje great.
On the other hand, Terje pulls off hokeyness better than anyone out there; “Alfonso Muskedunder” is begging to the be the theme song for an outrageous cop drama full of perfect suits, freeze frames and criminal butt-kicking accented with cheesy one-liner puns. Listeners are aware of just how absurd it is, but that makes it all the more delightful to groove to.
Although the energy dips at places and loses its edge, It’s Album Time is such an impressive display for being a debut album. Terje revitalizes all that is good and addicting about funky disco, and it would be pretty hard to declare this record as anything but a delightful party to be shared with friends.
