Disco de Cut Copy: “Bright Like Neon Love”

If you think you died and went to heaven when you first heard Postal Service, then you'll relive that experience 10x over with Cut Copy.

Composed of mostly synth and guitars with danceable beats and a melancholic britpop-esque post-punk flair, I'd describe Cut Copy as "electro-synthpop-dance-rock." Recalling everything alternative 80's, you hear references to the best of Depeche Mode, The Smiths, New Order, Human League, mixed with a Daft Punk-ian shake of house-y funk.

All the tracks are incredibly, incredibly catchy--the kind that stay in your head for days. The kind you cry over because they're just so good.

My standout picks:

"Future" - you'll hear this track tearing it up at quite a few NYC/Bklyn bars and lounges. True electropop confection perfection, brilliantly produced. From the catchy "ahhh, ahhh ahhh" chorus to the sweet lil' blips and bleeps, brooding Sumner-like vocals, Marr-guitar styling--every 80s new wave band trying to make a comeback only WISHES they could have come out with this single.

"Saturdays" - Bouncy, bass-y, hooky, funky. Imagine roller-skating in a swirling discoball rink wearing striped tube socks, giant headphones, and shorts. Great contrast between the insouciant, cold, near-robotic vocals and the unabashed, juicy happiness of this 70's flavored electro-funk single.

"Saturdays (reprise)" - oh man. Pixies, Smiths, Interpol, Joy Division, Cure... this melancholy, somber, minor-key, acoustic version of the above track just KILLS it.

"Going Nowhere" - Cut Copy's best example of how dance and rock can co-exist, creating a frothy bassline and beat while retaining emotion, soul, and gritty depth. Makes you want to dance and cry at the same time.

"The Twighlight" - Clash-style guitars get busy with a touch of Kraftwerk. Probably the most pure "rock" they get on this album.

"Autobahn Music Box" - Beautiful, sad, synthesized strings enhance a lo-fi crackly duet between the lead singer and female vocalist. Beats hold steady as guitars stab delicately, while the melody shimmers progressively down the keyboard scale, echoing a depression deeper and blacker, further and forever. The best lovelorn/love-lost love song to come in a long time.

But every single track is just amazing and so worth your money, from the dreamy synthpop prettiness of "That was just a Dream," to the post-punk indie-rock tribute of "Bright Neon Payphone," this album has high ratings on every major music magazine for a reason. I can't do justice to this beyond-five-star blend of electronica and rock.

And the best bonus of this album? It'll conjure up mad nostalgia.

So stop thrashing around to The Rapture and The Faint. It's time for music to get beautiful again. Start dancing, kids.

I bought this after hearing zap zap and a few other tracks on Pandora, at which time I was blown away by the uniqueness and catchy nature of their sound. It was like Daft Punk crossed with Hall and Oates (that is th best description I can think of at the moment). But on an album, this fails to keep my interest for very long. The cover art is excellent however. So I still like the way this looks on my desk. I do not like the poor mixing job on this recording either. The bass is not exactly well defined or pronounced on this collection of songs. I was expecting it to make my entire car vibrate and shake the paint off. Not so. It barely engaged the subwoofer at all compared to other dance artists.

This is a foookin great album. The whole thing has a same-ness of sound, but is really quite varied. Some of the tracks are straight up electro while some are guitar based rock, but they pull it all off with such ease. GREAT songs, that flow into one another easilly and effortlessly. People talk about the synths and guitars on this album, but the bass is what propels it all. Whether its synth bass or real (and same with the percussion), the driving bass lines make it possible for the guitars and keys to do their thing. 'Autobahn Music Box', 'That Was Just a Dream', 'Saturdays', 'Zap Zap', are all pretty much perfect pop songs. The music makes you want to dance like crazy, but the lyrics are all about lonliness, sadness, longing, yearning. Its perfect. 'The Twilight' rocks in a way that sounds a lot (musically, not lyrically) like early PiL, 'Bright Neon Payphone' is an amazing rocker that for me is the climax of the album. All of the rest of it builds up to this song where the depth of the sadness and lonliness alluded to in other places on the albums is really exposed. Its great songwriting, the music rocks, the whole overall sound is, well, its hard to top. Then the album finishes with 'A Dream', a perfect comedown from the rest of the album, slow, bouncy, wistful. The whole album is so damn pretty! Beautiful music, everything I love all blended together into one great record. way to guy cut copy!

When I first heard this album, it because one of my top favorites ever. The album cover - I wish I had a poster of it! Very few albums can capture both the groove and sophistication of electropop like Bright Like Neon Love. My favorite song is Saturdays. This is simply IDM at it best. If you ever been on the middle of a dance floor at a downtempo nightclub with your eyes closed just listening to the music, that is the feeling you get from this album.

This is very special record. Following up from the more electronic debut 'I thought of numbers' this is huge leap forward for Cut Copy. It has electronic influnces and you can hear that throughout, but the best thing is, it rocks. I stuggle to file this music because it is so diverse. There are a lot different sounds that make up a Cut Copy track. The layering on one track gives way to something simple and attention grabbing on the next track. The composition of the album is special. I found 'Bright like neon love' inspiring in so many ways. It is pushing the boundaries between rock and dance, but in a cool way. This is something new and refreshing. If you like what the Rapture, Franz Ferdinand, the Liars and Phoenix are doing you should love this. In mentioning those bands, I have to say that Cut Copy goes beyond any of those in where the music is derived from. You may hear some Prince, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, Joy Division, Guided by Voices and Bowie if you listen up. If you get a chance to see these guys live, grab it, otherwise you can make do with this peice of gold... gold I tell ya!