Studio – West Coast

The record label Ghostly International just reissued West Coast, the 2006 album by Studio, a collaboration between two musical auteurs from Gothenburg, Sweden. Ghostly spent months hyping the release, and it has garnered critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, which labeled it a best new reissue. Bandcamp selected West Coast as their album of the day near the end of January.

Louis Pattison’s review for Bandcamp Daily focuses on the balearic influences that feature prominently on West Coast but what struck me most was the sense that this album fit right in with much of the disco (dance) punk revival that permeated the musical landscape in the aughts. Even the heavy reggae vibes coming from the slow staccato guitars on the expansive (almost 16-minutes long) “Out There” wouldn’t sound out of place in some of the first wave experiments in dance punk.

The Wikipedia entry on dance punk reads like it was written to explain the existence of a record like West Coast. The characteristics of the genre so closely describe the interplay between the different elements that coalesce on the record. The guitars with angles so sharp a protractor couldn’t measure them, the detached bluntness of the vocals, the electronic infusions that tie everything together are all hallmarks of dance punk. The overall effect is much like other works that defined the scene.

“Dryness” is a term often used to describe the sonic quality of dance punk. It denotes a lack of sweetness, warmth, emotion and softness, and conveys a reserved, sardonic and ironic manner. This sense of dryness extends beyond the sound to the lyrics and vocals, particularly in the dance-punk of the 2000s, where it becomes a defining sonic quality, characterized by ironic lyrics and flat vocal delivery.

It almost seems beyond coincidence that this reissue just happens to have come at the same time as a new Franz Ferdinand record. Though the bands take different approaches, you can hear the similarities in their foundations.