Album du jour #12 - Compijubulation

Groove Armada - Another Late Night (2002)

I found myself in trouble when I get shuffle...the first result was Bjork's Big Time Sensuality, which is a 13 minute EP, which doesn't qualify. But the second result was Groove Armada's Another Late Night, which is a compliation album. I had intended to skip past albums that are mostly compilations - it is technically a "DJ mix", but not enough editing was done to really achieve the level of uniqueness that I would normally mandate. But I decided to go through with it, because 1. I felt like listening to it 2. They're a fairly important band for my music history, and 3. The next album was a random Jefferson Airplane one (I felt the need to get their discography the other week, for some strange reason).

Prior Relationship to Album: I first encountered Groove Armada - as most do - with their popular (and frankly, annoying) club tracks. They cropped up here and there, but I didn't explicitly listen to any of their albums until I started my job as the RPM genre director for my college radio station (aka, I would get the new electronica stuff and be in charge of selecting what goes into rotation and reviewing it and whatnot). One of the first albums I got was LoveBox, which made me realize that Groove Armada was a chillout group that liked to get its tentacles into the occasional rock and hard house tracks. I've listened to Another Late Night in bits and spurts. ALN is a series of DJ mixes designed to showcase the artists inspirations, not unlike the DJ Kicks series.

High Point: #13 "Strawberry Letter 23" is amazing, I think. A mix of folk rock and disco, it achieves a breezy but moving balance..and then ends the song with a 2 minute synth/sleigh bells solo. #08 "Memory" also needs to be mentioned; admist a sea of picturesque chill-out tracks, this one brings with it the most complete accompanying image. For me, that image is a proud stroll down the city streets of Philadelphia on a summer dusk, and anticipation for the possibility of love that can only be felt on such environments.

Low Point: #10 "Raise the Dead" wins the "good idea, didn't go anywhere with it" award. The “Breathe” remix by Open Door can be great, but it alternates between engrossing and jarring.

What I Learned/Realized: That Four Tet, Jamiroquai, Belle & Sebastian, and Kid Loco all have entries in the Another Late Night series...and I have none of them! This will be remedied shortly.

Future Relationship to Album: I can't forget one of the bands that got me into deep house and downtempo music...and as this is an album of their influences, these are roots that grow down to tickle the feet of my soul!

I've been listening to Menomena's Friend and Foe over and over again the past few days..because Jon and I are going to go see them play tonight! None of my friends know who they are, but they're the type of experimental indie music that I can really get into. I'll have a review of that album, as well as my show thoughts, tomorrow.