The About Group is comprised of Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip, Charles Hayward from This Heat, John Coxon from Spring Heel Jack and Pat Thomas. Talk about super groups, this is like an electronic gift from the gods and one would think that with a line up like that , the About Group would be neck deep in bangers and floor burners. But hold on a second there cowboy, you would be wrong. In fact, this group is so un-electronic it will leave you scratching your head. Rather than establishing themselves as a discotastic treat of epic proportions, About Group instead sound like some sort of 70's introspective group of depressed easy listening musicians.
The super group’s album, Start and Complete is the exact opposite of everything you would have expected from all these dance boffins. Rather than squelching 808's, your given Hammond organ runs. Rather than banging beats you’re given plodding slow motion drums. It's bizarre stuff that left me confused and slightly angry. Sounding something like Bread if they were more modern, About Group really are the most unexciting super group around.
So much of Start and Complete is just plain boring. The record seems lost in trying to be different from everything else these guys have done and as a result it just becomes a snooze fest. You might call it a post club comedown, but I would call it moany wimp rock that would make John Denver proud. I tried to like this, really I did, but it's just to snooze inducing to get through. Someone might want to take About Group out back and remind them that they make dance music...good dance music and then tie their hands to 808's and keyboards until they make some.
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