Shoegazer Disco

Richard Morel, aka Morel, and Pink Noise, is an extremely prolific musician based in Washington DC. He has worked with Deep Dish on many occasions, co-producing, co-writing and singing on tracks from the house music duo’s Junk Science and George Is On albums. He also co-produced and co-wrote songs on Cyndi Lauper’s last album, Bring Ya To The Brink, and has remixed Depeche Mode, New Order and the Killers amongst many others. And if all that wasn’t enough, he promotes, and djs at, the montly Blow Off parties in DC, a collaboration with Bob Mould, of Hüsker Dü and Sugar fame, in whose touring band Morel also plays. Expect Blow Off shindigs around the country soon, including San Frandisco.

His new album, The Death Of The Paperboy, which will be released November 4th on his own Outsider Music label, is a refreshing amalgam of sounds and influences that range from shoe gaze rock (Richard Morel calls the sound of this project ‘shoegazer disco’), to house, electro, indie rock and disco. On top of this, it is a two disc set, with the first disc being more or less straight ahead rock, albeit with the lushness that is a prerequisite of shoe gaze, and some subtle electronic touches.

The second disc opens out into house and electronic vistas, with remixes of tracks from the first disc and extra tracks like “Sweet Thing” and Shoegazer Disco.” The whole package is a surprisingly adventurous, yet listenable and accessible album, which will appeal to people who like Brit pop, shoe gaze, alternative rock, house music and downtempo gear. As this decade wears on, or out, it is obvious that there are more ways than one to skin the cat of dance/rock fusion. Here’s another very worthy addition to the canon.

Orr