Last weekโs recommendation, Sotomayorโs Wabi Sabi, has a very particular vibe that you donโt find in a lot of records. One of the few things it called to mind was 2022โs Topical Dancer from Charlotte Adigery and Bolis Pupul, which I ended up revisiting this week a lot.
The two records donโt seem particularly alike on the surface. But theyโre both rough around the edges smash-ups of electronic and organic elements packaged for dancefloor abandon. The way the sounds and rhythms click together feels very much of the same ilk.
There are, of course, differences. Significant ones. Adigery and Pupul draw more heavily from rock and early electronic music, at times evoking acts like the Talking Heads. The bass lines on tracks like โCeci Nโest Pas un Clichรฉ,โ cut through any reservations you might have about throwing your hands up in the air and waving โem like you just donโt care.
Itโs not all empty fun, though. Topical Dancerโs political commentary is almost as sharp as its basslines. On โBlenda,โ Adigery chants, โGo back to your country, where you belong. Siri, can you tell me where I belong?โ over percussive synth bass and 80s drum machine hits.
On โEsperantoโ she offers winking advice to people who say problematic things, โDonโt say โBut Iโm allowed to say that because I grew up in a black neighbourhoodโ, Say โMy n……eighbourโโ, drawing out the nnn sound for much longer than is comfortable. And โDonโt say โWhite people canโt danceโ, Say โTom marches to the beat of a different drumโโ, delivering each syllable delightfully off kilter, in what feels like the musical equivalent of cringe comedy.
Itโs not all confrontational takedowns of racists, xenophobes, and misogynists, though. Thereโs the late album highlight โHAHAโ which features Adigery laughing for almost four minutes on end, only occasionally interrupting to say, โGuess you had to be there.โ
About The Author
