Octet duo Francois Goujon and Benjamin Morando are probably tired of being compared to Air, that much more conspicuous French duo whose dreamy electro-pop just happens to be featured in two Sofia Coppola films. It's an apt comparison in a good way, though, as Octet pulls off Cash and Carry Songs with similar style and energy. The album is smart, but not by any means contained, jumping from glitch and aimless electronica to danceable hip-hop without a backward glance.
The highlights of Cash and Carry Songs are appropriately scattered throughout the album, consisting mostly of vocal tracks. "Hey Bonus" sounds like a leftover of a 1967 Beatles recording session with vocals eerily similar to Paul McCartney's on Sgt. Pepper's. Building gradually from a harpsichord intro to a full-on electronica beat, "Hey Bonus" satisfies both a desire to dance and a desire to listen to smart, thoughtfully constructed electronica. Following is "4/4 Waltz," a glitchy lap-pop tune decidedly moodier but still purposeful with a sense of direction. The album wanders after this point, stopping occasionally to feature memorable tracks such as "Blind Repetition," an airy, ethereal song with guest vocals provided by M83's Suzanne Thoma. Her soft alto floats gently over a bed of clarinet and atmospheric keyboards, harmonizing so well that the lyrics, commonplace as they are, don't really even matter.
Despite its strong tracks, it is easy to bob in and out of awareness when listening to Cash and Carry Songs. The aforementioned aimlessness becomes obvious in too many of the songs, and the only-now-and-then highlights lose their effect toward the back of the album. The hip-hop tinged "Feels Good to Give Up" is interesting until it gives in to cheesy, lazily rapped lyrics provided by Yasmine Mohammed: "Now you realize that I'm not kiddin'/ When you see a tiger where there once was a kitten." With a smile I hit the skip button one, two, three more times, only to realize that the interesting stuff has already been played out.
Octet undeniably has talent, as demonstrated by the three or four substantial songs on the album. More experience and songwriting will hopefully show Goujon and Morando which styles work best together to form a more cohesive -- and thereby more satisfying -- record.
1. Hey Bonus
2. 4/4 Waltz
3. Daddy Long Legs
4. Anti-Camp Policy
5. Sneakers & Thong
6. Zwischenspiel
7. Blind Repetition
8. Brick-O-Lizer
9. Feels Good to Give Up
10. Kino Cat Leng
11. Trackball of Fire
12. Honky Thonk (Outro)
13. Hey Bonus