Shockingly good.
Music, like many things in life manages to create fashions and trends that at times, it seems like certain people are omnipresent and will haunt you at every step. Currently, Mark Ronson is taking this accolade and if anyone isn't yet sick of the producer / covers artist hero can they please take him all to themselves. However, for those who are despairing at seeing his gormless chops staring out of every magazine, take a step back and think, when was the last time you heard the name Richard X? Yes, just a few years back, that weirdy beardy was getting the same populist hype that Ronson has now and that all passed, so the moral of the story is, don't fear the Ronson, when the tabloids and morons have a new bright young thing to play with, he'll move on swiftly.
So if theres a trend for producers to move on quickly, is it possible for producers and hit makers to remain credible and successful for a period of time. Thankfully the answer is yes and DFA are the blueprint for any up-and-coming artists who hope to balance sales with praise.
Part of DFA's triumph has been aligning themselves with talented bands and the latest band to shack up with them are Shocking Pinks, whose 'Shocking Pinks' record is actually a compilation of previously released material back in the bands home of New Zealand. There is a lot of fuzz and murkiness on the album with My Bloody Valentine and the Jesus and Mary Chain coming to mind, especially on 'This Aching Deal' or 'I Want U Back.' A combination of muted vocals, darkly intoning about love or reaching out for other goals over some jangling and effected guitars is always going to conjure up the same list of influences but when they're that good, who cares about the repetition. The rolling intro to 'How Am I Not Myself?' and its up-tempo romp is another step away from what you would expect but it's a charming little song.
Never fear that the DFA sound is too far away as the cowbell intro to 'Smokescreen' is a joyous moment and leads into a number that has an underlying funk and menace that would rip up any dancefloor (heck, theres probably some brilliant remixes kicking about as we speak.) And you can see why DFA would align themselves to a band like this, they have the songs, they have the sounds but they also have that classic sense of rock cool which appeals to the fanboys and record collectors out there. They may not be able to get the party started in the way that The Rapture can but theres more than enough moments that are worthy of shaking your tail-feather at.
So if over-familiarity of certain people in pop is getting you down, then don't succumb to it, get yourself some new listening material and the Shocking Pinks is as good a place to start as any.