Blogarhythms

Earlier today, while waiting to catch a bus, I watched as an older woman wearing unsettlingly tight clothing and too much makeup emerged from an apartment building across from the bus-stop, crossed the street and approached the gathered throng of commuters. Raising her arms like some Old Testament prophet about to deliver and edict from on high, or an Elementary School teacher getting ready to drop some jewels, she demanded the attention of the assembled rabble.

No predictions of doom or educational lessons were forthcoming though. Instead, she demanded to know if any among us could give her “the lowdown” on fireworks. Thinking she was inquiring as to a location where she could obtain some pyrotechnics for her own purposes I instructed her to visit the neighboring state of New Hampshire. As it turns out she was more interested in knowing where she could witness a traditional July 4th fireworks display in a nearby municipality.

As long as I’ve resided at my current address the best way to see a fireworks display was to walk out on to the back porch and look in the direction of downtown around 9PM on the evening of July 4th. Everybody in my building seemed aware of this, and the area outside of my door has, in the past, been crowded with various neighbors of mine on any given Independence Day. This yearly congregation atop a structure of plywood and nails has always made me a bit uneasy.

In recent years my dis-satisfaction with the national government has coupled with my unease in manner that can all but guarantee my absence from any such festivities. This year will likely be no different. Lucky for me I wont feel too left out as I’ve got No Way Down, the new EP release from deceptively-named Gothenburg, Sweden-based duo Air France, a group whose MySpace page labels them as “Socialistic roof top music,” to keep me entertained this holiday.

I admit, a rooftop party for Socialists (a real “socialist party” as it were) might be my ideal location for celebrating independence. And No Way Down is certainly the sort of joyously carefree soundtrack commemoration of a government that supplies its citizens with “Socialist” perks like universal health-care would warrant. But like the disembodied sampled vocal that repeats atop the thumping Baltimore Club-esque beat and horn-&-string-laden Orchestral Pop instrumentation of “Collapsing At Your Doorstep” says, such ideas are “sort of like a dream” here in the US-of-A.

Built around a medley of samples both vocal and musical, with an ear for warm, breezy, melodies, wind-swept textures and infectious rhythms, group-members Joel Karlsson and Henrik Markstedt’s sumptuous compositions mingle Avant-Garde Pop and the eclectic Disco exemplified by Ibiza’s Balearic Beat school. “June Evenings” for example — with its spectral female vocals and New Wave-y synths playing atop chunky drum-maching beats — sounds like Siouxsie & the Banshees reconfigured for Freestyle/Electro dancefloors after the manner of Joy Division’s transformation into New Order. But much of the material on the EP might conjure thoughts of previous Blogarhythms featuree Jens Lekman were he graced with Art of Noise mastermind Trevor Horn’s production acumen.

Building momentum from “June Evenings” to “Collapsing At Your Doorstep,” the EP crests with “No Excuses.” Sparked by wriggly synth-strings-&-flutes and a bubbly percussion loop that blossoms into a guitar-and-synth-fueled, clap-a-long break-driven amalgam of Indie-Pop, uplifting Philly-style symphonic Disco and late-’80s/early-’90s Club vibes, “No Excuses” is as sparkling, colorful and gracefully effervescent as any skyborn explosion of noise, light and smoke you’re likely to witness this week.

Air France “No Excuses”

Who needs fireworks, right? Besides, with all the celebrating of independents (independent artists that is) I did here on Blogarhythms all year I think I’ve got the 4th of July beat, hands down.