Machine Says Yes

Album Review

Chewed up and spat out of the big beat gristmill in short order, the brothers Kahuna returned several years later with an LP of genre-spanning electro-disco reminiscent of Lo Fidelity Allstars, another big beat survivor (and, ultimately, success story). Where Lo Fi yearns for the days of P-Funk and Northern soul, though, FC Kahuna professes allegiance to robot-disco stalwarts from Moroder and Kraftwerk to Adonis and DJ Pierre. "Growler" and "Glitterball" are stark, computer-game electro tracks that beat Daft Punk at its own highly stylized game, and "Nothing Is Wrong" turns a doubly ironic eye on the glut of detached female vocalists à la Miss Kittin. Really though, the Kahuna duo is all things to all electronica scenes — the brothers close with a lengthy bout of prog rock recalling Radiohead as performed by Super Furry Animals, the title track has been taken to heart by electroclash heads, and the elegiac downbeat number "Hayling" (with vocalist Haftis Helde, formerly of Gus Gus) was grabbed for several downbeat mix albums. "Bleep Freak" delves into seriously warped acid house, while the aptly titled closer, "North Pole Transmission," slots into the oop-north pastoral electronica of Boards of Canada. If it's difficult to focus in on what FC Kahuna does best, it's probably because it's all done well. [The American version of the album shuffled the track listing slightly, bumping up the chill-out hit "Hayling" to become the opening track.]