Codename: Rondo

Album Review

It’s strange that the hipster music press has hated Ghostland Observatory more than 3OH!3 or Kesha, but maybe that's because this electro-rock party duo does its work within such a small spectrum of both irony and electro that it's really down to love 'em or hate 'em. Also, the word is you have to see their dynamic live show to truly become a fan, but there’s a hook-loving, minimalist-embracing, and lyric-forgiving audience for Codename: Rondo who will no doubt agree that this fourth album beats the previous three. First off, the duo has never offered a better opener than “Glitter,” a clever track that steals some Gary Glitter riffs and gets wicked with the opening line “Look out kids/Cuz here I am.” They don’t often come up with these Sparks-like and sick jokes, and sometimes the party-minded lyrics are so simple you have to talk yourself out of thinking they’re dumb, but if you want pop culture-referencing irony, the keyboard player wears a cape in a Rick Wakeman style while offering small riffs that are the polar opposite of prog. Slice off a sliver of LCD Soundsystem (the song structures) and Queen (the singer’s voice and enthusiasm) and you’ve got the rest of their decidedly limited sound, which can be fully absorbed, and then considered, by clicking on two or three song samples off the ‘Net. Dig those snippets and Codename: Rondo just might be this weekend’s soundtrack.