1) Ode to the Bouncer; 2) Eros & Apollo; 3) All Men Are Pigs; 4) Who Is in Your Heart Now?; 5) Friday Night Gurus; 6) Flawless; 7) Jenny; 8) In Tokyo; 9) Funky at Heart; 10) When We Were Lovers; 11) True Colours
Cartoon colours, unbeatable attitude and a production to take over the dance floor. Masterclass pop.
Key tracks: "Ode to the Bouncer", "Who Is in Your Heart Now?", "Jenny"
Around 2012-2013 I was going through a pop music revival phase. The first music I ever loved was dance pop and while it’s always held a place in my interests for that very reason, over the years it became completely overshadowed and overpowered by rock music - at first through extroverted frontmen and flashy guitar solos, later primarily by endless amounts of introversion and melancholy. It got to a point where I found myself at a point where synth stabs, dance beats and unashamedly infectious hooks started sounding like the most refreshing, exciting thing around. Pop was worlds away from what I was otherwise constantly listening to and it began to sound brand new.
“Ode to the Bouncer”, which opens Studio Killers’ self-titled debut, arrived with a perfect timing and became a point of obsession very quickly. It has absolutely everything you could dream of a pop banger to have. The production is full of glitz and detail, reaching for a futuristic sound yet with a respecting nod towards past dance music trends. The lyrics are full of sharp wordplay, cunning puns and unapologetic sass and attitude that make what’s being sung just as exhilirating as the tune itself. The hooks are big and bold and hit a ton right off the bat. It’s a monster of a pop song that wipes the floor with its contemporaries and competitors. It took me roughly to the halfway of the first chorus to be smitten. It was a perfect case of the right song at the right time.
Studio Killers’ debut turned out to be a thrill ride - and still is. It’s a breath of fresh air even though it doesn’t invent any new wheels: instead, it ups its contemporaries through the level of devotion it has for its art. It radiates with confidence about its own strengths, masters the craft of melody and uses its foundational elements so immaculately that the music comes out revelatory. The fabled Perfect Pop Song is a rush of instant excitement to a downright physical level, a jolt of energy that gets you giddy just by how impactful its rhythm and melodies are, the Studio Killers album is close to repeating that throughout an entire record and if you were to ask me what I actually seek in modern dance pop, handing this album over would be enough. That in retrospect the once-mindblowing “Ode to the Bouncer” would actually turn out to be dethroned by half the album speaks to the level of inspiration and quality control here.
What really makes the album is the impact of its personality - anyone can nail songs and production but it’s this where the biggest differences in this genre are made. Studio Killers are ‘virtual band’ where the musicians involved operate under pseudonyms and characters, and that comes automatically with a heavy emphasis on design and style. Thing is, it’s an easy thing to half-ass: Gorillaz took about halfway through to the first album to unravel into just Damon Albarn and his mates inviting guests to the studio and it’s questionable if their cartoon antics really have any point anymore. Studio Killers on the other hand flesh out entire character arcs over the course of a 11-track pop album to the point where they feel as vital as any people behind music. Big thanks to this is the sheer quality of the lyric writing, which can bend from take-no-prisoners sass and attitude to surprisingly profound depictions of human relations, by way of Leonard Cohen and Simone de Beauvoir namechecks and “I can’t believe they just said that” level of punning (“sailors of the sleaze / all hands on dick”). These not only make the big bops instantly quotable and the slower songs surprisingly evocative, but they help to bring the characters to life and make the album feel personal: the virtual characters are actual characters. Under the giant synths and CGI art is a great big soul.
It matters. It’s the key element that the album needs to take it from a group of great songs to a great album, a full experience from start to finish. It’s a sensory explosion that tickles every sense of a music geek – golden production to vanish into with headphones, intricate songwriting where each piece feels essential and each melody bears impact, a groove that feels in the backbone and lyrics that hold up. What flaws it has are barely there - the near-instrumental “Flawless” is a great soundscape but always comes out a little jarringly, like an interlude that got out of hand, and “Tokyo” doesn’t shine quite as bright as the rest of the album. But look at what we have in contrast. The piano intro, synth stabs and whistle bridges of “Eros & Apollo” are one more jubilant than the other, the EDM build-ups of “Funky at Heart” turn a trendy cliché into something that sounds borderline profound, “Who Is in Your Heart Now” soars like a ballad never ordinarily could, “When We Were Lovers” gets right into your feelings. “Jenny” is a monster on its own - a pop song so colossal it could dominate the world, armed with a merciless killer hook, spiced by its cunning lyrics and (more importantly) the sheer desperation in the voice that sings them and topped by a suave accordion punctuation. The tracklist is one of the most fun musical rollercoasters I’ve ridden on.
Studio Killers a joyous burst of colour, love and energy, and everything I wanted and needed to hear in 2013. It had a monumental impact, dominating my personal airwaves for most of the year. For most people the idea of music like this coming off as mindblowing might feel surreal given it’s everywhere and how it gets shafted by “serious” music listeners (and let’s not pretend the “poptimism” movement is anything different) - I mean, we’re supposed to get into jazz or something as we get older right - but it offers a kind of bliss and body-powering energy that I hadn’t found myself honestly and analytically appreciating for the longest time beyond a small number of acts that were more akin to exceptions. Studio Killers did a lot of that course realignmnent. Its impact has remained even now and it still feels just as thoroughly exciting, and that’s what cements its status as a fantastic record.
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