GABIN AND CASSIUS

Astralwerks offers up two new disks for your aural pleasure. Unfortunately, both stop short of climax.
First, Cassius try their hands at a sophomore album titled Au Reve. Cassius was responsible for 1999, their fun and funky debut album. I was first turned on to 1999 back in 1999 when I caught the video for “Cassius 1999”. Beautiful work. The visuals were amazing, and the music was poppy and fun. It wasn’t something I could listen to all of the time, but I did like popping it in my player occasionally. For 1999, it was a good album. And with Au Reve, the fun and poppy music is back. Unfortunately, it isn’t 1999 anymore. It’s not that the disc seems dated. It just seems as if Cassius didn’t progress in three years. The first track, “Hi Water”, is a bit more ethereal than their old stuff; think of a slightly more clubby version of Air. But by the second track, “The Sound of Violence”, the same house beats from before are back. Even an Al Green sample from “Love and Happiness” on “Under Influence” can’t save this disk for me, and I love Al Green. So, if you really love the old Cassius stuff from 1999 and don’t expect anything else from it, pick up Au Reve. Otherwise, use that green to pick up some Green.
Second, there’s Gabin (pronounced Gaah-ban), and their debut disk. Gabin is the brainchild of DJ music collector Filippo Clary and jazz bassist Max Bottini. At first I really liked the idea of this match-up. I’m a fan of both jazz and DJ stuff, but while the album definitely proves to be interesting, I’m still not sold on it being good. One of the sneakiest tricks they pull on this album is they give you a sped-up club version of Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean A Thing”. Of course, without even realizing what the song was at first, my foot was tapping. Once it hit me, I felt dirty. It may be catchy, but I don’t think it is worth raping a Duke Ellington tune for. (Much like the REPUGNANT dance version of Elvis’s “A Little Less Conversation”.) Can’t we just let dead people have their goddamn music and concentrate on making new stuff? The really horrible thing is that this track sticks out like a sore thumb. The rest of the album is more airy, with chilled out bass lines and supporting horns. Imagine if Dimitri From Paris mixed a jazz album from the ‘30s. That’s what it sounds like. For a debut album, this isn’t all bad. There are a few nice things going on. But overall, the album doesn’t know what it wants to be. Nice first attempt, but better luck next time.