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...Sister,” the opening track of “Black Light,” Groove Armada’s sixth studio album. The lyric sums up the risk the band has taken on this new LP, abandoning their defining brand of filthy, glossy dance-pop and distancing themselves from their usual glow-stick-waving clientele. Instead, British duo Andy Cato and Tom Findlay offer up a more restrained, mature product, encompassing much of the greater subtlety and diversity of the whole world of dance music. Though this move carries with it the danger that Groove Armada will fall...
...Black Light” blends 1980s-inspired power chords, driving rhythms and synth waves worthy of French electronic composer Jean-Michel Jarre. Coupled with more traditional synth-pop flourishes, these elements create an uplifting, resounding musical landscape. However, it would seem that in their attempts to detach themselves from their old shtick of bouncing house music, the group have left behind a little of the infectious melodies that made them famous. But the impressive—and at times touching—musical flourishes on “Black Light” are well deserving of praise...
...bristling synth energy that climbs toward a rousing climax, successfully exploiting the sultry, dulcet tones of guest vocalist Jess Larrabee. The album contains many such collaborations, which successfully harness the youthful musical energy of a diverse range of artists, including Nick Littlemore from Empire of the Sun, and British pop superstar Will Young...
...these changes, however, fail to produce anything of the caliber of Groove Armada’s more youthful electro-pop rivals like MGMT and Passion Pit. Whilst the dark melody and synth saturation of “Paper Romance” conspire to create something quite heartfelt and expressive, it is often quite evident throughout the album’s progression that Groove Armada is distinctly out of its comfort zone...
...first two albums, 2003’s “Out of the Shadows” and 2005’s “Descend Like Vultures,” were both critically praised as mixtures of lo-fi acoustic numbers, rockers, and soulful, sometimes morose pop songs, drawing endless comparisons to classic indie bands like Built to Spill and The Shins. Before their 2007 follow-up, “Asleep at Heaven’s Gate,” they were dropped by their Sub Pop label, but found a home with Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records...