When you hear the name “Django Django,” you might instinctively think of a certain film or a certain Belgian guitarist. The British rock band doesn’t seem like the type to contribute music to the soundtrack of an explosive action movie, however. Over the years, it has played around with a myriad of delicate sounds drawn from various genres and eras, mashing everything up to create dreamy, multifaceted songs. Its third album, Marble Skies, continues this trend.
Django Django launches listeners into the shimmery trip that is Marble Skies with the title track, one of the strongest points on the album. It begins with ambient noise, building suspense; then percussion kicks in; then the synths make an appearance, and the song becomes an exercise in the balance between subtlety and urgency. Vocalist Vincent Neff’s fast-paced singing melds swimmingly with the ethereal instrumentation, resulting in a cohesive song that manages to sound both well-structured and experimental. The appropriately Transcendentalist lyrics—“Look across the plain, the shadow/Soon the fields will bloom again”—are also pleasing. Chances are, when you hear the words “Marble Skies,” this is the music you imagine.
Like many a psychedelic band, Django Django seems to have been influenced by the sounds of the groovy 1960s. Marble Skies doesn’t exactly resemble Pink Floyd, though; instead, it’s sometimes reminiscent of the pop bands that gained prominence during the British Invasion, such as the Zombies. This vibe is evident in songs like “Champagne.” It’s not difficult to picture the band performing the track in dapper suits on the Ed Sullivan Show. With its easy mid-tempo beat and light, airy tone, it’s a true throwback gem. Tambourine sounds, a slinky bassline, organ accents, and Colin Bluntstone-esque vocals make it sound like it was directly imported from another era. The sincere, piano-driven “Sundials” has this feel as well.
Elsewhere, the band channels the new wave movement of the 1980s. One song that captures that unique sound—a little bit retro and a little bit futuristic at the same time—is “Beam Me Up.” It’s cool in a quirky way, exactly what you might expect from a song named after a quotation from Star Trek. With sci-fi lyrics like “Return of the old gods/Nothing is new/We have commands that feed us,” it’s a bit evocative of Pleasure Principle-era Gary Numan. As the synths buzz and percussion clacks in time, it’s easy to imagine an out-of-this-world scene unfolding. When the keys appear near the end of the song, it gets even more appealing. “Surface to Air” is a bop in a similar vein, featuring smooth vocals from Self Esteem (a.k.a. Rebecca Taylor from Slow Club).
If there’s any weakness to Marble Skies, it’s that some of its songs tend to ramble. In some cases, the music’s winding nature is conducive to the album’s fantastical feel—for example, on the title track. Other times, though, the lack of structure is somewhat disorienting—say, in songs like “Tic Tac Toe,” which sound interesting, but are difficult to process fluidly. There’s no doubt that Django Django is fond of innovation, but occasionally, that innovation can be hard to swallow.
All in all, Marble Skies is an intriguing adventure through various genres and sonic textures. If you’re a fan of any kind of rock music, from classic ‘60s bands to psychedelic convention-benders, there’s likely at least one song you’ll like here. The question of the album’s cohesiveness is open to interpretation, but it’s certainly ambitious.
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