Saturday, November 24
The New Deal - s/t A few weeks ago, I went to a concert by the best hip-hop band in the world. I've seen them before, and knew they would deliver an exciting and dynamic set. And they did. However, what really got me excited that night was not the Roots, but a trio of unlikely looking fellows in button-down shirts who were on the stage when I walked into the venue. Like the Roots, this group's MO is to take a genre of music often decried for an excessive reliance on machinery, and to inject it with an incredible level of energy through the exclusive use of live instruments. 
Even more than the jazz-inflected funk verite of the Root's hip-hop, though, the New Deal's music is something truly unique, perhaps paradoxical: live techno. Using only a drum set, a bass guitar, and a couple of keyboards, the New Deal create what they describe as "progressive breakbeat house." It's odd that a group whose performance philosophy is not unlike that of a post-bop jazz combo - collective improvisation directed by spontaneous nonverbal communication, and reined in only by a groove and perhaps some sense of harmonic direction - should feel compelled to pigeonhole themselves into a sub-genre with such specificity. But that description is a surprisingly accurate one. It just drives the point across that the New Deal aren't some self-indulgent, jam band prone to twenty-minute solos, but a tight ensemble with one undisputable purpose. Forty-five seconds into their self-titled debut studio album, just before a low, sinister disco-throb bursts into stunning syncopated three-four synth-funk, a voice advises "if you've got a pair of headphones, you better get 'em on and get 'em cranked up." I say forget that - drop the 'phones and get on the floor. This is dance music, as infectious and funky as it is clean and precise. It is, indeed, progressive breakbreat house. They do such a good job of imitating electronically created music that it's hard to distinguish anything "live" about their self-titled debut studio recording. It comes across as enjoyable and funky, but essentially deriviate techno. Not to say that it isn't a worthwhile recording on its own merits, independent of process, but ultimately what's special about the New Deal is the fact that they are a live band. Until you witness them in action, you just have to take their word for it. And if you have a chance to see them, do not miss it. Take my word for it. (7/10)
Even more than the jazz-inflected funk verite of the Root's hip-hop, though, the New Deal's music is something truly unique, perhaps paradoxical: live techno. Using only a drum set, a bass guitar, and a couple of keyboards, the New Deal create what they describe as "progressive breakbeat house." It's odd that a group whose performance philosophy is not unlike that of a post-bop jazz combo - collective improvisation directed by spontaneous nonverbal communication, and reined in only by a groove and perhaps some sense of harmonic direction - should feel compelled to pigeonhole themselves into a sub-genre with such specificity. But that description is a surprisingly accurate one. It just drives the point across that the New Deal aren't some self-indulgent, jam band prone to twenty-minute solos, but a tight ensemble with one undisputable purpose. Forty-five seconds into their self-titled debut studio album, just before a low, sinister disco-throb bursts into stunning syncopated three-four synth-funk, a voice advises "if you've got a pair of headphones, you better get 'em on and get 'em cranked up." I say forget that - drop the 'phones and get on the floor. This is dance music, as infectious and funky as it is clean and precise. It is, indeed, progressive breakbreat house. They do such a good job of imitating electronically created music that it's hard to distinguish anything "live" about their self-titled debut studio recording. It comes across as enjoyable and funky, but essentially deriviate techno. Not to say that it isn't a worthwhile recording on its own merits, independent of process, but ultimately what's special about the New Deal is the fact that they are a live band. Until you witness them in action, you just have to take their word for it. And if you have a chance to see them, do not miss it. Take my word for it. (7/10)
