
For a
newish band like Mahogany with no discernible extramusical reference points (aside from the random Diana Ross or Kurt Weill mentions), the presence in the studio of ex-Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie is pretty important. For the most part the band sounds a lot like the Cocteau Twins, if they were fifteen when they recorded
Treasure and liked to skateboard and play video games and whatever. Which, if you add an Asian singer, makes them Asobi Seksu, I think. I’ll check on that. All of these needless comparisons fall away, though, with a gleaming flash like “
Supervitesse” (
mp3). There’s a lot to compare to the Twins in here, from the bassline of dark rubber to the frosty glow of the female vocals that come in as counterpoint during the chorus, but Mahagony are less interested in creating floating ice castles of sound than sleek, propulsive, futuristic dance pop. Both the album’s cover art and title (
Connectivity!) indicate that Mahogany are looking to build a self-sufficient island, comprised of a crowded group of things that can only seem to be united by their representations of progress and technological ingenuity. If so, then this song is going to be playing on repeat on the bullet monorail that takes residents from building to building.
Buy Connectivity! from Darla here. Mahogany’s website.
I would hesitate to call Mahogany newish, but this recent record, which I give big thumbs ups to, has certainly raised its profile.
Mahogany formed back in the ’90s… compared to Asobi Seksu, Asobi Seksu are the more new of the two.
From your description they certainly sound intriguing, but I’m getting a 404 file not found error for the MP3.
i totally dig the mahogany, but i’m a sucker for dancey dream pop. i’m doing my top 25 albums again this week, 5 a day. you should check it out: readmichaelreid.blogspot.com
Mahogany formed back in the ’90s…
404
man i’m rusty. sorry for those. fixed.
Great band.. the Connectivity album is pretty much all up to the same high standard as Supervitesse, plus they have another excellent (and slightly different in style) album from 1999 or so called Dream of a Modern Day.
Dream of a Modern Day is particularly wonderful.
Hi to all,
I invite you to enjoy the AWESOME footages I recorded from the CAPTIVATING show by MAHOGANY in my city, LIMA (PERU), some months ago…
Go ASAP to COCTEAULAB – Lima Videosónica:
http://www.youtube.com/cocteaulab
Greets from Lima,
Cocteaulab