303s

Lines of Parallel Minds

BY Rob BoltonPublished May 1, 2006

Right out of the gate, the 303s’ debut album sounds like another attempt to flog the electroclash scene, with its shout-y monotone vocals and speedy synth lines. But then along comes "Sea of Things,” a lovely pop song that sounds more like Ivy than Peaches. Clearly this girl/guy duo of Ingrid Dahl and Parixit Dave can’t make up their mind about what kind of band they want to be, since the album bounces sharply between melancholic, guitar-based dream pop and harsh electro pop. This makes it difficult to enjoy the album as a whole, but when listened to in isolation, there are some great tracks here. They know how to layer the electronics in a unique way that isn’t contrived, and the melodies carried by Dahl’s voice are quite nice indeed. It helps that they can write a nice pop song, and at the end of the day the abrasive electro seems a bit out of place. Mind you, this variety does keep them from falling completely into the ethereal/shoegazer void. This is definitely a promising debut, and it will be interesting to see which musical path they choose from here onwards.
(OD Incorporated)

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