Gus Gus, 24/7 (Kompakt)
Sep 14, 2009 12:59 PM, By Justin Kleinfeld
Minimal techno from the land of ice
Reykjavik, Iceland’s Gus Gus reeked of such promise thanks to the release of their now classic albums Polydistortion (1996) and This Is Normal (1999). Although primarily the work of Daníel Ágúst, Veiran and President Bongo, Gus Gus was formally a large collective of multimedia artists combining dance music with film elements. As dance music trends started shifting away from trip-hop and downtempo sub genres, Gus Gus’ music started to pick up more 4/4 beats and big-room club energy, which resulted in Attention (2002) and Forever (2007).
Rebranding itself once again, Gus Gus returns to the underground and signed on with uber-cool German techno label Kompakt for the release of its new six-track mini-album, 24/7. “Thin Ice” will really appeal to classic Gus Gus fans thanks to Ágúst’s echoing vocals matched with gorgeous textures and punchy beats. “Hateful” is the love-gone-wrong-themed track of the album where Ágúst sings “If I Can’t Find Love, I guess I’ll Hate,” while “Take Me Baby” (featuring Jimi Tenor) is a powerful techno track with drunken distorted vocals. “Bremen Cowboy” picks up from the previous track with squelching electro that’s peak time. “Add This Song” is the best track on the album for tying everything together. Flowing synths pair perfectly with Ágúst’s vocals at the beginning of the track, but soon things go minimal techno toward the middle for a drawn-out 11-minute-plus end to this party. [3 out of 5 stars]
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