- Album Review: Exogamy by Wedlock

Exogamy is out now on Amazon.com

You may remember that earlier this month I added my latest addition to my very occasional ‘give ‘em a listen’ section. Those of you who reside in Chapel Hill, NC, as I know so many of you who visit the blog do, may have been lucky enough to see this band in action. Their latest album, Exogamy, was actually released in April of last year, and has so far had three singles released from it, ‘Discopharma’, ‘Still Unsatisfied,’ and most recently the Jonestown-inspired ‘Reverend Charisma’, which I previously praised.

While by no means being trashed, Exogamy has received mixed reviews, but I tend to agree with a comment left by a certain individual identified only as ‘Beatstalker’ to the review on the Music Emissions website, who suggests:

‘Whoever wrote the last review on Wedlock must have been on crack and I am willing to pay for rehab. Wedlock is an amazing new band that should be on every Ipod in the world.’

The tracks from the album Exogamy, Wedlock's full length debut, are an eclectic bunch of electronica gems. The album was released on Kounterfeit Records last April, 2008. To date, three digital singles have been culled from it, with the band receiving numerous reviews across the web. Wedlock consist of Paul Allgood, Jay Bowden, Ana Mitchell and Baxter Smith and are perhaps best described as a combination of techno pop and digital funk. For me the thing that stands out the most about this album is the diversity of the lyrics and range of song styles. On Exogamy there is a wonderful mix of banging dance tunes (such as ‘Asseswaving’ and ‘Discopharma’), politically charged anthems (see ‘Reverend Charisma’ and ‘Allegiance… WTF’) and even love songs thrown into the mix (‘Black Sundress’).

With their lyrical depth and electronic beats, Wedlock could slowly but surely carve out a niche in the dance scene. Not living on groove alone, Wedlock tries to shake things up with strong personal and sometimes politically charged lyrics. Despite this intensity, Exogamy is often fun, energetic and makes you want to get up and move.

Exogamy is OUT NOW On Amazon.com

- Give em a Listen: Wedlock

Wedlock - Reverend Charisma (Kounterfeit Records) is available NOW on iTunes

The ‘Peoples Temple Agricultural Project’, more infamously known as Jonestown, was an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the ‘Peoples Temple’, a cult from California, United States, led by Jim Jones. It was to become internationally notorious due to the events of November, 1978, when more than 900 people died in the commune as well as in a nearby airstrip and in Georgetown, Guyana's capital. All but two of those who died did so from apparent cyanide poisoning in an event Jones named 'revolutionary suicide'. It is the largest known mass suicide in modern history and resulted in the largest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11th, 2001.

These events have inspired the notion that ‘religiosity leads to insanity’ which serves as the basic concept for the latest single from North Carolina band Wedlock. The electro pop outfit is made up of Paul Allgood, Baxter Smith, and Lee Whitsel. Their full length debut album, ‘Exogamy’, was released in spring 2008 on Kounterfeit Records and ‘Reverend Charisma’ is their latest digital single currently released to iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, and other digital download sites. The track is also available for streaming on their myspace page, and direct downloads are available there as well.

Wedlock

Gigging regularly in their local neck of the woods, you can keep up with what the band are doing on their blog (http://wedlockmusic.blogspot.com/). I like the new single, the third from the album, a lot and recommend you give it a listen. There’s a definite edge to the lyrics, as you’d expect given the subject matter, and the electronic beats remind me of jittery mid-era Depeche Mode, although I’m sure you’ll disagree.

Wedlock - Reverend Charisma (Kounterfeit Records) is available NOW on iTunes.

- My Tiger My Timing

My Tiger My Timing do Myspace

My tiger My Timing are a newish band from London, Anna from whom got in touch with me a while back asking me to give them an airing on the blog. Described as 'helping to usher in a new era of intelligent dance music' and as 'offering a refreshing mix of danceable experimental hypno-pop', they use afro-beat in an appealing and innovative way. I like the cut of their gib and recommend you give 'em a listen.

They have three tracks available for your downloading pleasure:

- This is not a fire

- I cant stop

- Conversation starter

More information on the band is available on their myspace page.