On Repeat: Matthew Dear: "Pom Pom" [MP3]
"Deserter", the first single from Matthew Dear's forthcoming album, Asa Breed, signaled the Detroit tech-house artist would be continuing the song-oriented direction he explored on 2004's Backstroke. "Pom Pom" suggests that track's sighing prettiness wasn't a fluke. A 4x4 kick drum reminds us this is supposed to be dance music, but here Dear's monotone vocal evokes the electronic-pop fusions of Berlin-era David Bowie, as he rattles off lyrics about love. As with Bowie, "Pom Pom" remains more existential than mushy: "I've got to figure out love," Dear intones at the song's refrain. Guileless synths sparkle as if to suggest an answer, and the song ends with a child's voice. Hell, I can't figure it out, either.
MP3: > Matthew Dear: "Pom Pom"
[from the forthcoming Asa Breed; due 06/05/07 on Ghostly International]