Studio Killers - Studio Killers Album Review

Following two frenetic and frenzied years of excitable buzz and building anticipation, Studio Killers, the virtual band formed in 2011, are all set for dance floor domination with their debut self-titled album. Where The Matrix and Manga meet to make fantasy a sexy and silky suspended reality, Studio Killers step in to put a musical soundtrack to a virtual world of lip glossed disco divas and pixelated alter-egos. Where artistic architects of animation manifest your sub-conscious avatar as a re-invention with a wink and a nod and the glam and camp rub shoulders with a hybrid fusion of Electro-Pop and heavenly House Studio Killers bring their delicious hook heavy harmonies to delight.  

The quasi quantum quartet of Chubby Cherry, Goldie Foxx, Dyna Mink and Bi-Polar Bear initially came to our attention with their first seductive single and viral video 'Ode To The Bouncer'. The ridiculously catchy tune tells the tale of a birthday girl on a mission to dance. As the synth loops and the beats break and build the lingerie light lewd Lolita with the lively libido sets her cunning sights on clubbing, whatever the obstacles. The energised electro-pop with a distinctly European lilt was a hit with the Danish, the Dutch and the Finnish. Like Daft Punk before them, Studio Killers mix up an infectious blend of pedigree pop, pulsating and pumping as Hi NRG meet a high aesthetic. 

Since the first single, Studio Killers have released three more, all of which are included here on this sparkling eleven track set. With high-hats and whistles accompanying the piano lead score, the velvety, vocoder-enhanced vocals dance us through a male models manoeuvres on 'Eros And Apollo' ("But every night they fall like dominos, How he does it only heaven knows) before this year's first single goes old skool. 'All Men Are Pigs' is a happy House party with a dash of feel good electro funk and a soulful break down. Push the sky, make some shapes, shake your booty let your wings fly as the synth score soars and swoops to an eclectic set of percussive beats.

Studio Killers show a mellower side as they drop the BPM with the tenderer 'Who's In Your Heart Now'. Posing self-reflective questions around love and desire from an autobiographical angle adds character traits to their graphical presence. The deeper synth hook (akin to Yazoo or early Depeche Mode) works well as a foil to Cherry's high falsetto vocal treatment. The dance floor beckons once more as the relentlessly irresistible rhythms of 'Friday Night Gurus' kick in before a more restrained, atmospheric and cinematic Studio Killers present themselves on 'Flawless'. The layered synth notes and raining piano score complement each other very effectively.

The latest single 'Jenny' sets the pace for the latter part of the album with its Eastern European bent brought to the fore with the individual touch of accordion to under pin the looping score. The tale of unrequited, unrelenting, borderline obsessive love is this summer's surprise hit waiting to happen. Add in The Med, heat, hormones and a few extras of your choice and you've got yourself clubbing ecstasy. Follow up 'In Tokyo' off sets the rhythms and introduces sound bites into the fray as the electro turns semi-industrial and love turns to A.I.

Studio Killers eschew the recent propensity by many artists to top load an album and instead maintain the quality with yet more electro delights by way of 'Funky At Heart'. The keys cascade and love blossoms in the bedsit as rent goes unpaid but a couple connects. Penultimately, 'When We Were Lovers' trips in with a soundtrack drawing comparisons to Chew Lips (Never a bad thing) before the debut album is brought to a close by the brooding beauty of the shimmering synth soundscape on 'True Colours'.

Studio Killers have managed to assimilate the asymmetric boundary between the real and the imagined with an adventurous and hugely enjoyable aural array of articulate and harmonious music. Nowhere else could you find Simone De Beauvoir and Nietzsche rubbing shoulders with Lolitas and gigolos for dance floor supremacy. The self-titled debut by Studio Killers is a clear expression of intent showcasing a set that draws on elements of electro, house, funk, soul and most importantly pop to produce a fusion of sound that delivers killer beats, hardcore hooks and contagiously catchy tunes. Pump up the volume and dance the night away, Studio Killers have nailed it with a blistering debut album.

Andrew Lockwood.