Eiffel 65

Eiffel 65's vocoder-heavy Europop, which yielded the major international dance smash "Blue (Da Ba Dee)," falls somewhere in the dance music spectrum between Daft Punk and the Vengaboys. It employs funky, deep house grooves with vocoder enhanced vocals, similar to Daft Punk and Modjo, yet many of the songs incorporate nursery rhyme choruses and solid pop stylings. The album has its share of "Blue" soundalikes, some better than others. For example, "Dub in Life," "Another Race," "Hyperlink (Deep Down)," and the unremarkable second single "Move Your Body" all sound like "Blue" and offer very little else. "Silicon World," on the other hand, also recalls their hit, but takes the formula into a much cooler and sophisticated direction. This album really succeeds, however, when the formula is stretched and the act tackles different musical styles. "Too Much of Heaven" is an intelligent, funky, anti-capitalist dance song, and "Living in a Bubble" is an interesting, string-enhanced hip-hop track. "Your Clown" is gothic and dark, and unmistakably recalls Depeche Mode. "Now Is Forever" is a trippy, shuffling slice of house, and "Europop," despite its title, is the album's acid house representative. Eiffel 65 will mostly be remembered for its hypnotic smash "Blue," however, and its less than stellar follow-up "Move Your Body." But if one digs deeper, then this album offers several surprises and interesting dance grooves. ~ Jose F. Promis, Rovi