Chicago-based threesome TRS-80 get their kicks out of being a live electronic band named after a lo-tech, Radio Shack computer. The suspiciously electro-seeming early-'80s visual sheen of the band should not deter listeners though, as Shake Hands With Danger gets its digi-funk post-hip-hop ghetto-tech groove on without a wink. It's DJ Shadow meets the Neptunes sans brassy hooks, a retro-future re-envisioning of big beat. Analog synths produce seriously deep lines and add Stevie Wonder-like interludes for tracks like "Hand ...
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Chicago-based threesome TRS-80 get their kicks out of being a live electronic band named after a lo-tech, Radio Shack computer. The suspiciously electro-seeming early-'80s visual sheen of the band should not deter listeners though, as Shake Hands With Danger gets its digi-funk post-hip-hop ghetto-tech groove on without a wink. It's DJ Shadow meets the Neptunes sans brassy hooks, a retro-future re-envisioning of big beat. Analog synths produce seriously deep lines and add Stevie Wonder-like interludes for tracks like "Hand Over Fist," while wonderful arpeggios sprinkle organ fantasy breakbeats on "Phantom Power." The live drumming is especially noted on tracks like "I Am Energy," where polyrhythm combines with ambient samples (taken from early tracks) and old TV dialogue to produce a bubbling but strangely down-tempo electronic music for a postclub world. On "Get Inside," the drumming and warm synth swells are not unlike the often sampled David Axelrod. Unlike the oft-compared Boards of Canada, TRS-80 don't seem compelled by nostalgia so much as using the past for textural source material. A wonderfully sprawling yet cohesive album, Shake Hands puts TRS-80 light years apart from their kitsch or analog-purist contemporaries. ~ Daphne Carr, Rovi
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