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One of my heavy rotation listens from last winter was Miami Horror‘s Bravado EP, which provided one of the best singles of 2008 (and a similarly smashing video) in the form of “Don’t Be on with Her.” The music is the work of one Benjamin, a twenty-two year old DJ and producer who hails–as most of the cream of the indie dance crop does–from Australia, specifically Melbourne. After cutting his teeth creating remixes for artists including Datarock, Midnight Juggernauts, The Presets, and Tegan & Sara, Miami Horror is preparing to release his full-length debut early next year. “Sometimes” is our first listen off the LP.
As with the best of Miami Horror’s work, “Sometimes” channels equal parts Daft Punk, Alan Braxe, and New Order (… or is it Electronic?). There is more than a dash of Bernard Sumner’s approach in those spacious guitar riffs, and there is even more air between the notes during a pretty, house-inspired breakdown three-quarters of the way through. While the instrumental and vocal elements are more or less the same when compared to Miami Horror’s preceding singles, it is clear that he has taken great strides forward in his songwriting, moving further away from the repetitive, slow build of dance music and embracing the pop conventions which made “Don’t Be on with Her” so sexy. “Sometimes” proves Miami Horror to be a formidable songwriter, one whose knowledge of electronic music minutiae make his nods to his forbears spot-on and unforced. If “Sometimes” wears its touchstones on its sleeve, it never suffers the suffocating grip of revivalism. Unless there is something painfully awry in the music world, Miami Horror is poised to break out and be the Cut Copy of 2010.
(45 votes, average: 8.02 out of 10)
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October 10th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Nice to hear that New Order’s influence is still being felt in 2009. Good song.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:18 am
UBER generic. Cut Copy did this two years ago and did it better. If you mean they’re the Cut AND Copy of 2009/2010 you might be on to something. Ooooh…hear the Daft Punk…ooooh hear the Hooky-like bassline…oooh ah…it’s so hip it’s covered in neon (Bright Like Neon Love perhaps)…I can see skinny white boy idiots showing off their bird cage in American Apparel v-necks thinking they’re cool because they love this song. The scene is already played out and shit like this is what’s left. No wonder all the hipsters are now into “Afro-Beat.”
October 11th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Catchy song.
Umm…Paul — Cut Copy had a great album back in 2004, they just picked up the “hipster” following two years ago. I’m guessing you were on that ride.
October 13th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
oh, its MGMT. no, wait, passion pit. no, wait. boring. yawn*
October 14th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Not understanding the hate here. Not the most original or mind-blowing song I’ve heard this year, but I like it.
October 14th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
The haters are just too cool for school. They would rather be listening to their shitty new chill wave records – on cassette because vinyl is so 2008.
This is a really enjoyable song even if – as the review made clear – it is not the most original song ever. But who cares if it sounds good?
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:38 am
Could swear I was listening to Hooky playing that glorious low slung bass guitar sound
October 19th, 2010 at 7:35 am
it is very typical, i agree with those guys, but i also agree those who say that these guys are art snobs. The questions snobs need to ask yourself, is do you listen to music because it is independent? or because you like it? (If a indie sounding band goes mainstream i would still listen to them, because i like the stuff they make.)