European-American outfit Late Guest At The Party position themselves as ‘sad boy dance music’, which, for the record, is 100% my jam. Here on Ramblin’ they have partnered with Joe Lambert (DFA Records, and Animal Collective) on mastering duties. And the resulting record is about the journey that ‘often happens in your head’ whilst making music… An exploratory journey of creation, destruction, and reconstruction.
With warm bass notes that have a slightly squelchy, acidic feel to them, Ramblin’ pulses with a nervous energy. Lyrics fly in a stream, a sense of determination creating a propulsive energy as the synths morph around the song’s vocals.
In the middle section, Ramblin’, throws out a cacophony of clattering beats and glitchy electronics, a bridge that gives birth to the song’s closing third. A vocal refrain repeats the line, ‘I’m gonna live in my head’, as the song moves through a slack bass phase, the percussion morphing as the song seemingly hits every single beat possible.
The nerdy beauty on display on Ramblin’ calls to mind the kind of thinking person’s dance music popularised by Hot Chip. I can’t wait to hear more from Late Guest At The Party, whose groove, smarts, and emotion feel equally abundant.