Sugar & Gold – AYA Remix EP

Album Reviews • Wednesday November 11th, 2009 • 9:05 am

Sometime in the last year, the music world took a big step back. Not necessarily in quality, just back in time. A big collective of musicians looked around at 2009, said “fuck this,” hopped in a DeLorean and roared backwards. Each jumped off at different points, stopping in the era of their influences (or their parents’ influences), looking to the old in search of something new. You’ve heard them before – Passion Pit, MGMT, Hot Chip, if we’re naming names.

Perhaps none milked the ride as far as San Francisco’s Sugar & Gold, a hopped-up quintet mashing the best of new wave synth-pop, old school disco and electronic funk into a surprisingly refreshing throwback sound that’s equal parts hypnotic and irresistible to anyone with even the semblance of a rhythmic bone in their body.

Not surprisingly, the Aya Remix EP opens with two remixes of “Aya,” which is disappointing only in that one version would suffice plenty. “Come and Go” is the standout, a hulk among a pack of heavyweights. Rife with the influences of the aforementioned dance brethren MGMT and Hot Chip, the song is equally toe-tapping and, frankly, astronomically more musically stimulating (a trend that is the core of this record).

There are two ways to enjoy Aya, really for the entirety of this record (unfortunately, there’s only four songs). You can shut off your brain, crank it up and dance, and that’d be a perfectly valid way to soak it in. On the other hand, layers of complexity are there for those who desire. Underneath the dance-pop façade that so often gets the pauper’s treatment in the music world are dissectible layers of educated harmonies and chord voicings over tasteful, hypnotic beats and funky bass lines fit for a king (or, at least, for George Clinton).

Bands like this catch a bad name for being unoriginal. But since when is it unoriginal to look back during the invention of something new? It’s the very foundation of all new music, save no genre. The snobs will say they’re a gimmick band. A party band. A one trick pony. Hear this: if it’s a gimmick, be fooled. If it’s a party, be there. If it’s a pony, ride it to the bitter end. Whatever you do, don’t miss Sugar & Gold.

Tagged as: Dance Pop, indie pop, San Francisco