Philadelphia Weekly

MUSIC

Critic’s Pick: Simian Mobile Disco

By Reyan Ali

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted May. 22, 2012

Simian Mobile Disco is an unpredictable and often totally absurd project, and that’s very much a marvelous thing. The London-based team of James Ford and Jas Shaw specialize in lively electro-house that’s the aural equivalent of consuming a bag of Skittles dunked in cayenne pepper. That said, SMD’s music isn’t the sole reason they’re worth your attention. The duo’s videos are even brassier and more mind-bending than their sonics. The geometry-heavy clip for “Cerulean” off the new Unpatterns looks like the result of an MP3 program visualization screen going sentient and sucking down a handful of LSD cubes. Looking into SMD’s past videography, the design porn of “Audacity of Huge” is worth an immediate YouTubing if only to see how it brings word-salad lyrics such as “Tammy Faye milk money butterscotch” and “honey-dipped tennis wear just for play” to brightly colored life.

Thurs., May 24, 10pm. $10. Voyeur Night Club, 1221 Saint James St. voyeurnightclub.com