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Avg: 3.5 (36 ratings)
- Date Released: March 31, 2009
- Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
- Style: Rap, Hip-Hop
- Label: Big Dada / Iris
A sexy and fun retro-electro dance party
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We Say...
The synth-pop duo has become as changeable an icon as the rock band, the model of synth-genius-and-flamboyant-vocalist proving every bit as durable as that of the guitar-bass-drums-etc. combo.
Similar to what Glass Candy does with Italodisco, Thunderheist — Toronto synth genius Grahm Zilla and flamboyant vocalist Isis — make the kind of electro that's modern club-friendly while being both deliberately and craftily retro. In Thunderheist's case, this means channeling vintage Salt N' Pepa-via-Peaches on such deliciously sleazy porno-aerobics lessons as "Jerk It" ("Dust it off," she murmurs in command; maybe rinsing would be better) and the wondrously unsentimental "Sweet 16," which taunts, "You can't, ca-ca-can't do this/Ta-ta-ta-ta-tap the booty," over an irresistibly pumping hi-hat-kick, aqua-toned guitar and lean, dramatic orchestral hits; it gets genuinely sexy when Isis drawls out, "Let's talk that dirty talk/Dirty dance, dirty walk."
Thunderheist have a healthy taste for the cosmic, too. "Space Cowboy" features loose, almost floppy live drums and a silver-rocket-in-deep-space keyboard line that overreaches the song's general pitch by a good distance right around the 2:20 mark. Leave it to a synth duo to go so aggressively over-the-top. -
They Say...
An admirable attempt to shake up hipster dance music formulas that doesn't quite come off, Thunderheist's self-titled debut combines the decent if derivative talents of Isis -- a real-deal MC who mostly limits herself here to dumbed-down good-times party rhymes -- and Grahm Zilla, whose synth-laced productions take in Moroder-esque disco, old-school electro, stuttering crunk and B-more club, and brittle tech-funk. It's a promising merger, but the results are frustratingly uneven. While the blank-voiced Isis occasionally makes for an intriguing presence on the mic, as on the minimal, electro-flavored "Slow Roll" and "Cruise Low," too many of her ostensible hooks come off as tired and oddly dispassionate rehashes of the frank sex rap perfected by the likes Peaches and Spank Rock, not to mention Missy and Lil' Kim. That's particularly true of the duo's early singles ("Jerk It," "Bubblegum") and several of the other tracks packed towards the front of the album, where Zilla's beats are too plodding and one-note to provide much spark, either. Things get somewhat more colorful, or at least varied, in the album's latter half, with "The Party After"'s curiously murky booty-groove and "Space Cowboy"'s gleaming disco/R&B, which demonstrates -- along with the surprisingly soulful early standout "Nothing 2 Step 2" -- that Isis is far more engaging as a singer than as an MC. A few notably weak tracks notwithstanding, most of this material would be pretty enjoyable, or at least reasonably effective, in a club context -- taken as an album, though, it's an unfortunately tepid, shruggable listen with a small handful of highlights.
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| 01. |  |
Sweet 16 |
3:46 |
|
| 02. | |
Nothing2Step2 |
4:00 |
|
| 03. | |
Jerk It |
3:51 |
|
| 04. | |
LBG (Little Booty Girl) |
4:24 |
|
| 05. | |
Bubblegum |
3:56 |
|
| 06. | |
Slow Roll |
3:16 |
|
| 07. | |
Space Cowboy |
4:29 |
|
| 08. | |
The Party After |
3:29 |
|
| 09. | |
Freddie |
4:22 |
|
| 10. | |
Do The Right Thing |
3:06 |
|
| 11. | |
Red Whine |
2:20 |
|
| 12. | |
Cruise Low |
3:12 |
|
| 13. | |
Anthem |
2:31 |
|
13 Total Tracks, 46:42 Total Length
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Credits
- Ryan Morey - Mastering // Nick Murray - Producer // Nick Murray - Engineer // Nick Murray - Mixing // Them Finest - Art Direction // Them Finest - Design // May Truong - Photography // Grahm Zilla - Arranger // Grahm Zilla - Producer
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