Attention

Artist: Gus Gus
Label: Moonshine Music
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 785688017723
EAN: 0785688017723
ASIN: B00006BXGA

Release Date: 2002-08-27

Attention

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Tracks:

Unnecessary
David
Desire
Attention
Dance You Down
I.I.E.
Call Of The Wild
Detention
Your Moves Are Mine
Don't Hide What You Feel

Similar Items:

This Is Normal [ENHANCED CD]
Polydistortion
Gus Gus Vs. T-World
Mixed Live
Forever

Amazon.com

With a stripped-down list of members and a lean, tech-pop sound, Gus Gus's Attention gets more from less, building a lively, kinetic sound that draws heavily from old-school acid house and new-school electro. Instead of taking the usual crowd of filmmakers, artists, and even some musicians into the studio, only a trio of regular members contributed to Attention, along with vocalist Earth, whose pipes give the record's spare rhythms an edge of diva-funk. It can make for a pretty sexy sound, as tracks like "David" (featuring the provocative refrain "I still have last night in my body") attain a hands-in-the-air momentum. But overall, the diversity of the music is what keeps the record afloat, as Gus Gus piece together an aggressively modern sound from a cleverly chosen selection of early techno influences. Throughout the record, the synths are as bright as anything you'd find at an early '90s hyper-rave, but they're often integrated into synth-pop structures; "Unnecessary" sounds like something Soft Cell might be recording right now in a perfect world. While the record's jumbled approach starts to wear itself out toward the end, Gus Gus have the requisite big ears and open minds to keep it interesting. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews:

icey hot electro funk.......2005-07-06

I just found out that these guys are going to play live in dc again soon and ended up listening to this disc again. Memories of how this scaled- down group from Iceland thoroughly rocked the 9:30 club a few years ago came flooding back. Apparantly some people still can't get past the fact that Gus Gus are no longer a nine piece mega-circus who make spooky downtempo albums for 4ad. To those people I say please GET OVER IT. Granted "Polydistortion" was a fantastic and timeless release, and in my opinion, "This is Normal" was mediocre. Still, the same electric Gus Gus heart beats strong throughout "Attention", only it's a bit dirtier, nastier, and funkier. This album grabbed my attention from beginning to end with it's raw electro and techno beats more geared for the dancefloor than the fat chair. There are still plenty of beautiful synths and textures throughout, just a bit more minimal and sparringly applied. The production on this recording is superb and they display a well-schooled knowledge of electronic dance music's history. There are very electro-sounding tracks on here as well as trancey and stomping, soaring techno-based songs. And no,these guys are not to be confused with the whole crap electro-clash scene or forgettable trance pap by the likes of Oakey or Paul VanDyke or whatever boring as sin cookie cutter designer hipster drivel is being made currently. There is a very cool Icelandic feel throughout the disc and singer Earth warms things up with some of the most soulful vocals to be found anywhere today. This is a very accessable and extroverted release that should be in any lover of electronic dance music's collection. This is not for people who can't get over the past or have a problem with dancing.

Gus Gus what happened happened?!.......2005-03-07

I've been listening to Gus Gus for a LOOOONG time, I have several of their remix singles, I have every album before this one and I've seen them live once. I was excited to get this album, albeit a bit wary knowing going in that the line up of the group was not the same as the other albums. I'm glad I got this album used and not new because I am really disappointed.

There is really only one great song on this album and that is "David". There are one or two other tracks that are ok, but passable. I like the new vocalist, its a shame the backing beats are so stupid. I'm a electronica freak but one of my biggest pet peeves is overuse of the high hat in the percussion and this album has high hat misuse ALL OVER IT. Not only is it annoying, but it is a completely unimaginative use of percussion. If you want to know who the Masters are of complicated and sophisticated programming, turn to Oakenfold or BT. These songs on this album are like nails on a chalkboard, they are so bad. I tried to like it, I really did. But I simply can not stand the programming done on this album. Like another reviewer stated, they are simple and sound like some beginner high school group playing around with their new keyboards. The tracks without any vocals are simply unlistenable. They remind me of bad happy hardcore back from the day. People, aren't we past that? No depth, hardly any layering, no substance. Just that damned incessant wretched screeching high hat that I hate so much. Sound like hitting a trash can with a stick over and over. With all the advancements that have been made in electronic music in the past 15 years, this is the best you could do?

I bought it, I'm ripping "David" onto my computer and I'm reselling it. Gus Gus, call me when you get the rest of the gang back and can make a decent album.

Gus Gus is On On.......2005-01-15

Don't miss this one, folks. Soooo listenable, over and over. Earth (purrrrr!!!), Biggi, Buckmaster, and President Bongo lay down trippy, frozen beats from trippy, frozen Iceland. Unique, smart, and icy.

Work in Progress.......2004-12-24

It's not easy to describe a group comprised of nine members in one record and three in the next, who are alternately jazzy and raucous, whose vocalists range from the sealskin smooth tenor of Daniel August to the puffin blubber mezzo of Earth and who dish out EVERYTHING with no holds barred electronic orchestration. But such is Gus Gus, based on their albums a work in progress from day one. They have been around for about a decade now but I just discovered them in 2004 and I count them my favorite new group. Hands down. Their music is all over the place - smooth jazzy ballads (Desire) to wild falsetto romps (Barry) to contrapuntally complex bleep and pop etudes (I.I.E.) and Matthew Herbert-style eJazz (Cold Breath). But they have produced some absolute killer tracks: Call of the Wild, David, Gun and Barry to name my favorites. Whatever has changed over time with this group, some demonic core remains in full control producing great music. Their website promises a new disk in early 2005 and I can't wait.

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