Chromeo: Slice of funk with a side of soul

Montreal’s reigning goofball BFFs and candy funk purveyors have done it again on their third LP, Business Casual. Enlisting the production acumen of Cassius’ Philippe Zdar, this release confirms there’s more to our September issue cover boys than the vintage synths, electric guitars, talk box effects and electrofunk nostalgia let on.

The hook crafting remains top notch (especially on tracks like the rousing, clickety-clack disco jam “Grow Up”), but the smooth operators also reveal a softer side on numbers like “J’ai claqué la porte,” a wistful little ballad about a romance gone awry.

Even though the album was recorded in New York (more precisely in Brooklyn, where crooner/guitarist Dave-1 currently resides), the expat Montrealer assures me his songs don’t in any way pay tribute to the pseudo-bohemian rhythm that rules the ultra hip East Coast enclave. “Not at all,” says the Columbia PhD candidate with a chuckle. “There aren’t any songs about vegans or tattoos, nothing of the sort. We’ve kept our own vibe.”

The kitsch factor remains a key ingredient to the Chromeo stew, and the duo’s fixation with lady love in its innumerable permutations hasn’t dissipated in the slightest. “Absolutely,” confirms Dave-1. “Especially conflicts, because it’s as much a question of conflicts as it is about seduction. But then you’ll get a track like “Momma’s Boy,” which is just pretty darn funny. The trick is to always properly balance humour and sensuality.” And through it all, Dave 1 and P-Thugg speak from the heart. To all their tenderonies.

Chromeo
January 21 | Metropolis
59, Ste-Catherine E.
with Mindr
chromeo.net