“Catchy psychedelic nursery rhymes blended with sneaky hooks that would give even Tame Impala a good run for his money.”
The Response have produced a Spacey Simon & Garfunkel record teleporting the listener to a galactic universe far far away.
This walk through space begins with Novel Idea – the title track, and deservedly single, it opens the gate to a collection of bubbly electronic pop/rock songs. The sophomore track Hollow Branches, reminded me of a nursery rhyme, both intriguing and haunting, something you’d hear on a vintage Korean thriller series. The use of samples was novel to me as a listener, at times, I struggled to gauge the merit, particularly during the verses. They were distracting versus enhancing the core melody. Nonetheless the song is catchy, the intermittent guitar licks are a nice touch.
All Of My Flaws, a captivating guitar riff paired with a bare but effective drum pattern, once the bass kicks in – on baby! The chorus is feelgood, euphoric, with cleverly placed elevating synth work. The bridge is formative, compact and assertive – there’s a raw fullness here that the duo would benefit from on more of their tracks.
At this point on the record, the combination of samples and instrumentation had me perplexed. How would ‘The Response’ fair on stage? Are they chained to their sampling pads / laptops? Does this limit their audience engagement? In my perplexity I browsed live performances. Live on RDU “Picture Undefined, Hawkes Bay, 2020 stood out – it instantly reminded me of seeing The XX play ‘Crystallized’ on KEXP 2009. It must be challenging, I thought to myself, Andy is working pedals like Geddy Lee while noodling guitar AND singing – ka pai as the kiwis say!
Set Something On Fire – they can create effective space, the stripped back verse 2 is witty. Notes of Tame Impala with a dogged, driving drumbeat over psychedelic tones. The use of panned mantras adds to said psychedelia. Touching on my previous point, there is a high pitched squeak sample here towards the tail, I feel it takes away from the finale of this song versus adding. Also, with the andante 4/4 feel of the album, would the duo benefit in experimenting with a 6 or 7 / 8?
The band’s humorous side is showcased in New Pair Of Pants (Coming Collapse), a sonic waterfall with speak-easy guitar chords. If psychedelia is your thing, the quarter tab of LSD has now kicked in.
By the time Circles Within Circles came on – it was obvious that the duo have their hook formula down. Circles Within Circles reminded me of Crystal Castles, twinned with the XX reference, I can taste the 00’s electronic London & Toronto scene seeping through on Novel Idea.
My favourite track was Over The Moon; strut like a badass and roll down the windows in your convertible. This chorus is contagious – kudos!
The final chunk of this record features Stuck In Your Head, which served its purpose, and was in fact, stuck in my head. Big fan of the guitar riff on the final track Far From Figured Out, the Nicki Minaj synth/moog mind you – not for me!
On digesting Novel Idea over a weekend I reflected on the difficulties and limitations 2 piece bands must face. Before I offer any sort of constructive criticism, is a 6/8 metric modulation even possible? In a nuanced home studio world, where do we draw the line and opt for bandmates or session musicians versus relying on technology? When does all the multi-tasking become too taxing and does it distract from the creative process?
On the flipside, what are the advantages of being a duo? We look at Royal Blood & The Black Keys, their success is herculean. Does it boil down to finer details, logistics – i.e. it’s easier to tour with 2 in the car vs 5 in the van? Food for thought.
In conclusion I am very keen to catch The Response live, as should you. The record grew on me – my gentle advice, don’t be afraid to strip it back, the chops and hook formula is 100% there. I sincerely hope the second record is in the pipeline.
