Following a musical lineage directly from the NYC scene of the late '70s/early '80s to the present, Mahjongg make music that is simultaneously unique, challenging, and danceable. This is important, as RaYDONcoNG 2005, their first full-length CD, arrives at a rather precarious moment in popular music. It s no secret that for the past few years making dance music has become hip again, and with so many recent forays into the field, making a uncommon statement is becoming harder and harder.
What separates Mahjongg from the rest of the pack is a broader sense of montage in their compositions. The sonic elements of a given track sound like they are held together by the aural equivalent of scotch tape. In "VaxiNATION," the centerpiece of the album, while slinking bass, chiming guitar, stabbing synth, and intertwining male and female vocals work to integrate themselves into a cohesive whole, the dirty, propulsive drum beat swells and heaves as if it were a mechanical bull trying to throw off a stubborn rider. The tenuous, yet sustained balance struck on this and other tracks is the beauty of Mahjongg. They fully appreciate the beat, putting it front and center in the mix, almost always recording the drums (or programming the drum machine) to get a very overdriven sound, and consequently, the melodic constituents have to hang on dearly if they want to make it through, creating an amazing tension that compels a dancefloor to move.
Yet, even the bold sound driving the majority of RaYDONcoNG 2005 is subverted in the closing track, "BISMOC UX," where the beat slips off the radar, and listeners are greeted with a blissful mix of xylophone, acoustic guitar, and bass. This track would not be out of place on a Nick Drake album, but, strangely, neither is it out of place here. After having confronted listeners with such edgy new music, it only seems fair to close the album with a song that, rather than begging the listener to dance some more, punctuates the experience with a well-earned solace, cleansing the palate for another go-round.
1. BBG-9298
2. THE rRABBITT
3. FELIcity
4. The STUBBORN HORSE
5. THEGG
6. VaxiNATION
7. COTTuN
8. HOT LAVA
9. BLIVABLE dogggiiieeee
10. BISMOC UX
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