'Out of Frequency' is out of touch

By Benjamin Huber-Rodriguez     2/7/12 6:00pm

Most bands these days are very into their cryptically meaningless names. Then you have those band names that tell you exactly what you'll be listening to: Mumford & Sons, Dixie Chicks, Metallica, etc. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour falls into the latter category. Funky, space-themed electropop? Check. Out of Frequency, the pop duo's second full-length album, combines the funkadelic '60s with some modern electronic sampling while regaling you with tales of clubs, drugs, mischief and sexual endeavors. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour just wants to party with you, and to its credit, that's about all it does.

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour is a Danish duo consisting of singer Mette Lindberg and producer and songwriter Lars Iversen. Their first big break came in the form of an iPod touch commercial, in which their single "Around the Bend" was featured and received some airplay in Europe. Soon after, Amy Winehouse asked them to open for her show at Copenhagen.

Out of Frequency's opening tracks are like walking into a casino; there are big brass sections, electric organ and keyboard riffs, up-and-down electronics that sound like someone just hit triple sevens, and someone who sounds a bit like a lounge singer squealing and belting out slangy pop tunes between exasperated cries and wails. The opening track is even called "Gold Rush Pt. I."

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The lounge singer is Lindberg. Lindberg likes to sing about cross-country booty calls, earning the late-night dollar, getting entangled in organized crime and generally just living on top of the world. Her world is as bright and eccentric as America's playground itself, and her music rarely steers away from the topics of gold, guns and girls. Lindberg's biggest criticism, though, won't be found in the audacity of her lyrics. Sometimes bands like Radiohead deliver an album full of social commentary and foreboding, and sometimes they just want to rock you. It's no secret that Lindberg wants you to party your face off, so just let your qualms about lyrical content and meaning go and hit the town for 47 minutes or so.

Lindberg's criticism can be found in her singing style. Her voice at times is catchy, quirky and refreshingly unpolished. At other times it's babyish, squealing, shrill and downright annoying. Still, that's the love-it-or-hate-it aspect of an interesting singer like Lindberg.

Writer and producer Lars Iversen, on the other hand, works pretty damn hard to configure the appropriate pop music to accompany Lindberg. His music is heavily influenced by '60s psychedelic funk and '70s disco, evidenced by his undying love for electric organ on most tracks and the flashy big-band themes found in the album's first few songs. For the most part, though, he sticks to his bass and keyboard backbone behind basic drum beats, throwing in bizarre sample sounds like space lasers and pinball machines.

The whammy bar-fueled guitar riffs and relentless organ bring the listener back to a different era, when people partied to live music and gold chains meant you were cool and hip. He makes party music: There's no denying that, but at least it's the party music of the past, rather than yet another attempt at electro-house and other popular synth-based genres. The tunes do get a bit repetitive, though, as Iversen keeps the beats pumping high from track one to 14.

The review rundown:

Out of Frequency isn't trying to fool anyone; the bright lights and discotheque themes are only matched in straightforwardness by Lindberg's relentless attempt to convince you that life is just one big party.

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