Music review Tuesday: Laetitia Sadier turns political and Django Django get remixed

Laetitia Sadier

Silencio

Best known as the singer for ‘90s indie band Stereolab, Sadier sticks to her guns on her second solo album. Where her 2010 solo debut The Trip focused on more personal issues, most notably her sister’s suicide, which took place shortly before the recording of the album, here the French-born singer turns her focus outward to topics such as politics and the universe as a whole. Opening track, “The Rule of the Game” name-checks fascism, the ruling class and disarmament, while “There is a Price to Pay for Freedom (and it isn’t Security)” employs distant sleigh bells in a verse discussing the societal roles individuals are forced to take on in reality. If these sound like heady topics, they are. Yet, Sadier still finds time to match her weighty lyrics to an upbeat strum on “Auscultation to the Nation” and “Moi Sans Zach” even features Latin rhythms

Django Django

Hail Bop – The Remix EP

(Ribbon Music)

“Our name has absolutely nothing to do with Django Reinhardt,” writes British psychedelic quartet Django Django online. True enough. Instead of resembling the late gypsy-jazz guitarist, the band has more in common with fellow Scottish group The Beta Band. And that’s no coincidence either. Django bandleader David Maclean is actually the younger brother of Betas keyboardist John Maclean. However, where The Beta Band tended to tread in more shuffling rhythms Django Django dances to a different beat. On this remix release, listeners are treated to five different versions of album track “Hail Bop,” including the original cut which is available on the band’s self-titled debut, as well as a take on the number “Skies Over Cairo” by DJ Bullion. The revamped cuts songs well with Django’s already echo-laden vocals and eclectic instrumentation contributing to a surprising, non-repetitive listen, but overall the release is strictly for hardcore fans only.

Watch the official video for Django Django’s song “Hail Bop” here: