Along with bands such as The Unicorns or Liars, The Double combine several experimental aspects of noise and chaotic synths, with songs that still come out enjoyably light and easy to listen to. They are from the culturally thriving Brooklyn, New York and they released their Matador debut, Loose in the Air, last year. It was produced by Steve Revitte, who is best known for his work with Liars. A funny and unfortuante thing happen to The Double while they were recording their new album. Their drummer, Jeff McLeod, suffered a hand injury and was unable to perform on much of the album. This would explain the experimental sound that The Double are incorporating, as they tried to make a solid record without a solid backing percussion. They may thank Mr. McLeod later for helping the band find its unique sound, as it turns out to be very pleasing.
Much of the songs tend to gradually build up, with instruments slowly climbing on top of each other to manufacture the song, until they eventually all explode and all release themselves into some hectic chorus. Take up the opener ‘Up All Night’ or ‘On Our Way’, for example. ‘Up All Night’ launches into some sudden chorus, with vocalist David Greenhill saying that he wanted to reach for “Yoko Ono’s minor notes” on the track. He certainly tried his best, along with ‘On Our Way’, which has a bit of a more epic and ambient feel, as the atmosphere created on the song is one of the best on the album. ‘Icy’ is a bit more pop, just streching past three minutes. Though it is the least experimental, ‘Icy’ is most likely the catchiest song on the album. Though it has its odd missteps in the latter part, I thoroughly enjoyed The Double’s Loose in the Air.
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[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/dou-icy.mp3]————————————-
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[audio:http://www.matadorrecords.com/mpeg/the_double/the_double_Idiocy.mp3]————————————-
Music Video: Idiocy (Real / Windows Media)
Actually, the drummer’s hand injury came at the start of recording for their previous album, Palm Fronds, which as a result contains percussion from a drum machine only. Both albums are great, though.