Even if the debut full-length from Dummy wasn't on one of my favorite current labels, I'd still be revved up about this release. Mandatory Enjoyment, out on Friday via Trouble in Mind Records, delivers exactly what we knew this band would deliver based upon what we already heard on their prior EP's. It also reveals how much a contemporary group can take the mantle of Stereolab and sort of run wild with it.
While the space-y "Protostar" opens Mandatory Enjoyment in a languid mode, the crunchy "Fissured Ceramics" offers up the best sort of tune of this nature since all that stuff Slumberland colleced on Switched On Volume 1 way back when. The groove here is driving, the hook hypnotic, and the same can be said about the ebullient "Daffodils", this record's first teaser. Things modulate slightly with "Final Weapon", a playful ramble across keyboards and the stars, while "Cloud Pleaser" is lighter still. Rather than a 'lab tribute, this one is more amorphous in spots, as is the epic "H.V.A.C.", a cut that bristles and then unfurls. Revealing a debt owed to Can, this is likely the bravest cut on Mandatory Enjoyment, even if reviewers are likely to rave about the roaring "Punk Product #4", one of many up-tempo gems here.
What makes Mandatory Enjoyment so good in addition to how much parts seem in thrall to the best bits from Stereolab is how inventive it is. Dummy rarely slow down, even when the pace relaxes, and the whole record has a roughness in the right places, and a polish in others, that is bracing. Despite all the shadows of the 'lab here, what shines is how good this American indie is. Dummy sound energized, attacking these chords and hooks with real gusto, throttling the melodies into ppace, even as the grooves seem intent on flying off into the cosmos. This is an album that should come with a big sticker on the cover that says, "You're really gonna dig this!"
Mandatory Enjoyment is out on Trouble in Mind Records on Friday.
[Photo: Dummy Bandcamp]