aaamusic | On 30, Oct 2011

Masked trio Is Tropical return with their third single from debut album ‘Native To,’ and it’s more straight-up pop than other tracks I’ve heard from these Londoners.

 

Is Tropical used to have an air of mystery about them, which led to the bloggers babbling about them a year or two ago. However, in spite of their continued mask/bag/veil wearing, all that mystery and blogger hype seems to have evaporated in 2011. Their album ‘Native To’ was a decent electro-pop effort, but it failed to really light anyone’s fires.

 

Their new single ‘Lies’ is allegedly considered a fan-favourite, and upon the first listen I could easily see why. There is a fine synth riff and a amiable vocal melody, but it’s the Daft Punk-esque, pulsating bassline that makes this an enjoyable listen. Nonetheless, it’s not as energetic as previous singles, and after just a few listens the bass electronica and indie-dance elements seem to fade behind a rather prominent eutro-trance-pop hook (think Calvin Harris).

 

Basically, this is a good track with great production, but it has regrettably  been released a couple years too late – this mash-up sound of Mystery Jets-style indie and Justice-style electro has been done to death, and as a result this song sounds a little stale. (There are, however, some much more interesting moments on their ‘Native To’ album, so don’t right them off just yet).

 

Clive Rozario