S.T.R.E.E.T. D.a.D.

Out Hud, ??????? | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Kranky
• ASIN: B00006LVGP
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,047 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D. is a joyous celebration of the place where rock and dance subcultures meet. Like Stereolab and Labradford before them, this Brooklyn-via-San-Francisco group has the good sense to steal from relatively obscure sources (so that the young ones who don't know any better will think they're "original"). More important, they take those influences--ESG, Liquid Liquid, and Pell Mell among them--and do interesting, inventive stuff with what they've found (so that geezer hipsters are pleased). Out Hud is the very best of a wave of acts that spent 2002 partying like it was 1981. They take a Mudd Club-like cross-cultural approach, weaving funk, disco, and new wave with a harder, more experimental post-punk vibe. It's New Order meets Durutti Column, and you're even more liable to like it if that reference means nothing to you. --Mike McGonigal

Product Description

Out Hud could be described a number of ways in indie-speak, such as "What Tortoise might sound like if their avant-garde jazz and minimalism fixations were replaced by oddball disco and post-punk." Or maybe "Chamber post-punk that shares nothing in common with the Meters-mimic of 5ive Style and the Beastie Boys." Crazier yet, people who caught all the references in LCD Soundsystem's "Losing My Edge" might use a phrase like "This Heat meets Arthur Russell." Despite these comparisons and anti-comparisons, Out Hud is unique, and not just in the indie sense. An instrumental unit who could get by on their nimble, intricate rhythms alone, they adorn their brisk machine-drum patterns and low-slung basslines with a wide variety of instrumentation. Spirals of guitar; patters of bongos, drawn-out notes, and percussive jabs of cello; and waves of keyboards -- both textural and confrontational -- drift in and out of a jumble that often thrives on dub production techniques (reverb, echoing snares, unexpected surges of sound). This, the group's bizarrely titled full-length debut (stranger still are the song titles), is an incredibly creative fusion of several styles of music that winds up sounding like no one else in particular. The obvious references to inspirations are few and few between, and any comparisons have more merit in approach than sound. This 40-minute series of fluid, labyrinthine passages is equally cerebral and hip-shaking, with pulsating grooves and webs of intricate adornments tangling for an otherworldly type of psychedelic dance music. People who had been snapping up this group's vinyl releases prior to this long-awaited full-length can prove once and for all that the slobbering wasn't a put-on. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freakishly Phenomenal Debut!, November 24, 2002

By 

"donkeye" (all up in your face) - See all my reviews

This review is from: S.T.R.E.E.T. D.a.D. (Audio CD)

I don't think there's really any way to express the abject astonishment I received when I first turned on this cd. It is by far the greatest cd to be printed this year. My earlier favorite was the Akufen album, My Way, on the Force Inc. label, but this is just so terrifically good, I can't resist telling you it's the best album of the year, as far as I'm concerned.

These 6 songs are among the most adventurous and thrilling tracks in the experimental, or post-rock genre. They make it look easy, but we know from the many many bands that have cropped up in the years since Tortoise put out its first full length, that it is not easy to rock the experimental.

I would suggest, without putting undo pressure on the members of Out Hud, that if they keep on making music this good they will rival Can as the most brilliant avant rock group. The music on Street Dad has all the playfulness, originality, and carefully structured force of Can's Tago Mago album, and all the beauty of it too.

As the somewhat jaded Amazon.com employee critic has suggested, a lot of the sounds on this album hark to the 80's era indie rock, the Cure, Soft Cell, Talk Talk, Sonic Youth and so on. But these are turned on their head, mashed up in the development of some of the most incredible, 21st century instrumental compositions I've heard. Out Hud are like nothing from the 80's, but you can't help hearing a respect for the more avant-garde sounds from that decade, as well as the one before and after it.

Nothing on this album fails at sounding organic. The live drums and the drum programming are both effortless and unique. Every instrument sounds perfect, and nothing is overdone.

This is an excited album, energetic, confident, and never misses a step. This is a band to watch, but more importantly, a band that has released its first masterpiece.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars hmmmm...???, November 22, 2003

By 

"l-mo" (Monterey, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: S.T.R.E.E.T. D.a.D. (Audio CD)

Just saw this group in SF, liked them and their energy so got the CD at the show. But, the CD was vastly different from what I saw on stage. Their stage show was definitely Stereolabish, especially with the two girls' vocal parts (on every song), but the CD doesn't have any vocals. Still, the CD is good, fresh, and I would highly recommend seeing them live!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instrumental Pop/Rock at its best, April 6, 2005

By 

dtp (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: S.T.R.E.E.T. D.a.D. (Audio CD)

Instrumental music never gets any attention. I've heard it a million times: "I don't like music without words". Miles Davis used to say music with lyrics tells you how to think, while instrumental music allows you to imagine on your own. With that in mind, you need to buy this!

Out Hud creates something of a hybrid of Durutti Column, New Order, Neu!, and Kraftwerk, to name just a few. The beats are danceable, the songs never repetitive. And odd touches like the cello in "The L Train...", along with bursts of odd noises, really make this and unusual and exciting listen. Taking a long road trip? Pop this disc in and bask in the cool beats of "Hair Dude.."

It's a pity music like this could never really be on the radio, and is relegated to cult listening. But if you join the cult, you won't ever want to leave. Fans of post punk, and other bands like LCD Soundsystem would be wise to check this out.