Pretty Good Dance Moves: Limo

Pretty Good Dance Moves consumes their audience with their latest release Limo. In this 32-minute epic, the band introduces a series of percussion medleys, edgy bass lines, and jarring synth-electro pop. After releasing their self-titled debut EP PGDM in 2010, and spending the last few years cutting tracks with countless collaborators — such as Bjorn Yttling (Peter Bjorn & John), Lissy Trullie, and Genevieve Schatz (Company of Theives) — Jimmy Giannopoulos and Aaron Allietta have enlisted the aid of Sabina Sciubba of Brazilian Girls. Her sultry vocals spice up this electric record. The album was cut between their apartment in Chicago and Paris, France. By taking a far different approach from their previous work, the bandʻs main intention was to compose a record of eight movements. The idea was to put out a record, not just singles.

“Movement 1″ beats slowly in the distance, creeping up on you with a steady bang. Think of a construction worker outside your front door pounding away at the pavement in the midst of twilight. The movement then seeps into the second part. Suddenly with Sciubbaʻs vocals teasing breathlessly throughout the momentum rhythm.  Just to note, this is one of the many movements that showcases her vocals. She even sings in three different languages (English, German and French). The movements filter through as a kind of tranquil house music, emulating a slow tempo dance groove.

It isn’t until “Movement 4″ where the duo and Sciubba break out in triumph. Sciubbas wails exotically in French, shadowing a Thriller like anthem which bolsters the beginning of the track in jazzy sort of way. The movement soon turns the dial down just a smidge, with the teasing of a solo saxophone artist weeping during the middle of the 5 minute medley. The track is meatier and incorporates a diverse source of sound. The movement was crisp and flawless. By Movement 6, the sound shifted to an electro pop ballad. It was calming, however, Sciubbas lyrics seemed a bit trite and out of place “Ride with me / into this night of Cooper, we’ll be back in time for supper / oh yes!”

“Movement 7″ and “Movement 8″ complement each other nicely. Sciubba sings in an exotic dialect of German before seguing into English. The real gem behind the entire album is Movement 8, titled “I Wonder Why.” The track bounces and flirts on the synth while Sciubbas echoes the sentiments of “I Wonder Why.” Here the band shines with their clever tricks and the painstaking lyrics of a woman wrapped up in a troublesome relationship where she only gives and gives “Your fingers in my hair / your correct eristic stare…in its lucky atmosphere only let them be envious; I know this is how it feels, in everybody’s dream, why shouldn’t I take the heat, when you are all I need?”  The lone trumpeter is moving and effective on the movement’s final chords after Sciubbas last note.

PGDM still has bits and pieces of their ominous sound found on their EP. But here, they ante up the score with a more psychedelic beat and electro-synth music fit for the dance floor. No matter what kind of mood you are willing to dance to. Limo is available now on MAD Dragon / Township Records. You can sample the single “I Wonder Why” here.

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