Review Summary:
Following in the footsteps of electro-bands that combine pop with more serious lyrics.
Most of the electro-pop artists these days go for the happy-go-lucky feel. Ok, so that might be the antidote for these troubling times. But then, there are moments when we need some sobering-up, waking up to current realities. So why not have that served with some electro-pop?
That is exactly where Victoria BC/L.A. duo of Remy Remy and Danny Impart, aka 12xPretty, come in with their self-titled debut album. Now, dystopian visions are not the brand-new thing with electro-poppers. Heaven 17, the duo that was originally part of The Human League hade some serious lyrical ideas coupled with electro way back in The Eighties and are still relevant today.
So how do 12xPretty fare in comparison? Actually, not bad at all. Remy and Danny veer more towards the “Blade Runner” style dystopia (“Miserable Machines”, “Brave Escape”) and towards the current electro-styles. In many ways, that makes their message easier to be picked up by the people who prefer electro as their musical flavor.
In many ways, the sound on 12xPretty has a hip-hop feel (try “Losing Sleep”). As it turns out, the duo intended the album to be a hip-hop project, but changed directions mid-stream, with the hip-hop versions recorded and still lingering somewhere in the studio bins.
But judging by the 12 versions that did actually end up on the album, electro-pop suits 12xPretty just fine, particularly evidenced by tracks like “Caliphornia”, where they move into other musical territories. It could be a Heaven 17 influence, but the duo is obviously on tracks to come up with a sound all their own. It turns out that 12xPretty’s electro-pop can make dystopian messages a bit more palpable.
