JAVELIN No Más
By Stephen Fortner
Sat, 1 May 2010
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Javelin_NoMasIf LCD Soundsystem got a regular gig as the house band on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, then brought the mock-sunny influences of that whimsical sanctum to a moonlighting gig scoring French New Wave cinema circa 1981, the result might sound something like Javelin. And if duo Tom Van Buskirk and George Langford sound like they scour the thrift stores of Brooklyn for dusty Casios and drum machines on which to reconstruct grooves inspired by equally dusty vinyl, it’s because they do. Layering lush, sampled choral swells over chewy synth bass, the opener “Vibrationz” skews towards the user-friendly chillout side of what you’re about to hear. The debut single “Oh! Centra” combines Mario-nostalgia synths with a chipmunk-processed rap lauding Centra’s amorous prowess, whoever she is — blink and you’ll miss the Salt ’n’ Pepa quote. “On It On It” is what Thomas Dolby would cook up if he were 21 and spinning Ableton in a San Francisco Mission hipster hive. Despite an undeniable underground feel, the album never fails to be accessible and, well, pretty, from beginning to end. Even if you don’t like No Más, you definitely won’t feel like it wasted your time.

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Do you employ soft synths as part of a live performance rig?
 Yes, soft synths are what I mainly use.
 Yes, as an adjunct to a mainly hardware keyboard rig.
 No, I gig strictly with hardware synths, digital piano, etc.
 No, because I don't perform live.
 
 
 
 

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