Music

Does It Offend You, Yeah?

You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into (Almost Gold)

A A A Comments By Pete Freedman Friday, Apr 25 2008

With Daft Punk, Justice, Chromeo and a host of other electro-dance outfits rising to mainstream prominence in recent years, there's obvious reason to fear an upcoming logjam in the genre. Does It Offend You, Yeah?'s debut record, You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into, hardly signifies that end, though. In a way, it serves as a blueprint for how to keep things fresh. It's simple, really: proudly wear an honest set of influences on your sleeve and let them fester over electronic drum kits.

Take the stellar "Dawn of the Dead," in which Does It Offend You, Yeah? treads almost a little too closely to emo-pop and cheese-rock balladry. Laid over handclaps, Caribbean drums and infectious "Ooh-Ahh" chorus-backing chants, the song seems as likely a choice for suit-and-tie Friday afternoon happy hour selection as it does for a hipster after-hours dance party's playlist.

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That's a scary line for an act in this cred-based genre to toe, and You Have No Idea carefully distances itself from these leanings. Only "Being Bad Feels Pretty Good" and "Epic Last song" approach the affecting charm of "Dawn of the Dead." The remainder of the album offers up club-spinning DJ fodder—impressive, dance-worthy tracks that use a variety of blips and vocoder effects without much concern. And yet DIOYY's skill set seems best suited to the ballads. For a debut, it's a smash; but to stay afloat in this ever-crowded genre, the band would be wise to flush out its adorably cheesy muses.

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