Native To

iTunes Review

For those who like their dance-pop frothy with a splash of quirkiness, Is Tropical will slake your thirst and whet your appetite for more. The British trio’s debut album Native To is a veritable survey of techno sounds from the late ‘70s into the present day. But these tracks are more than a cut-and-paste job — the threesome injects their work with 21st-century wit and an odd sort of innocence. The fuzzy bounce and distorted vocals of “South Pacific”, “Land of the Nod” and “The Greeks” are smile-inducing and body-grabbing simultaneously. “Clouds” and “Berlin” have the low-fi cheekiness of an early Mute Records production, while “What???” escalates into a trace-inducing, Eastern-influenced groove and “Orange” bristles with rock-guitar flourishes. Brooding slower pieces like “Zombies” help mitigate the unbridled giddiness of “Think We’re Alone” and “Take My Chances”. Amidst this dizzying swirl of sonic colors, Is Tropical offers a lyric message of self-liberation and romantic adventure (albeit in oblique terms).