Des Peres - The Adventures of Cowboy and Miniman (Album)
If you like artists such as Beck, Luscious Jackson and James Brown et al… chances are you’ll dig Des Peres. And if you get a kick from hearing local outfits like The Crazy Baldheads through to The Bamboos and Katalyst craftily re-invent elements of soul, funk, jazz, blues and electronica right here in your own backyard, you might just be stoked with this.
Though it’s the third album by this Melbourne band, unfortunately I missed the first two unless they also contained a few tracks I’d subconsciously heard on the radio and hadn’t caught the name of. In this case, the songs I did feel that FM connection with were Sudden Thought, the bubbling tune that deftly devolves into an old man blues singer bit… Cibo Matto, eat your heart out. Also I Like London in the Rain, which is not only cute but title-defiantly French chic.
Second and third placed Dynamite and Southern Vector appear way too early in the album, possibly scaring off new listeners wanting a less eclectic ride. Probably best to put this on before you go out, like before you hit all that traffic. Further into the piece, guest appearances include Machine Translations’ J. Walker on Little Man Falls out of the Sky which sounds more like Beck circa Mutations than even Beck does anymore. Also Ned Collette on final track Olive Now, which, like the preceding Landed on the Edge of the World is a neat slab of synthesizer tech-pop. Get on the Bus uses a Pusher Man sample and doesn’t try to hide it, instead embellishing with a female rap, nice chorus and some guy - quite possibly the one called Mr Ection - repeating the word “disco” incessantly.
When all is said and done, Des Peres are keeping the fun in funk and for that, they deserve at least some of your freak time.
