Dave Simpson 

Shy Child: Liquid Love

The maturing Shy Child manage to straddle the divide between electronic funk and soft rock, writes Dave Simpson
  
  


New York duo Pete Cafarella and Nate Smith first gained attention in America's nu-rave scene, wearing orange hoodies and scoring a cult hit with jerky 2007 electro-stomper Noise Won't Stop. However, they seem to have matured, their fourth album delivering a sound somewhere between the Scissor Sisters' exhilarating falsetto and the edgier global funk of Remain in Light-era Talking Heads. On tracks like the terrific Disconnected, Shy Child they reach that elusive collision of dancefloor exhibitionism and existential introspection. There's a sense of familiarity, whether in their use of a Fleetwood Mac sample and Chic bell sounds, or the way a Jenn Vix narrative ("I used to be in bands...") recalls how the Orb used a Rickie Lee Jones conversation in Little Fluffy Clouds. However, it's unusual to find a band equally at home with electronic funk and soft rock who can produce an album that will delight fans of either.

 

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