Pat Mahoney has been kicking around at DFA Records since the NYC label formed in 2001. The closest thing to a Motown or Stax session musician of yore, the former Les Savy Fav drummer has lent his talents to DFA-released albums from artists like LCD Soundsystem, Planningtorock and Shit Robot. Teaming up with producer Dennis McNany to form Museum of Love (both musicians' first outing as songwriters), Mahoney has remained loyal to DFA's brand of analog/analogue '70s disco.
Unlike some of his former collaborators, Mahoney drenches his songs in a shimmering gaze of atmospheric haze that allows five-and-six minute synth-compositions sound epic and moody. Although tracks like the echo-laden, Beach Boys-esque "In Infancy", and the whispery, glammy "Learned Helplessness in Rats (Disco Drummer)" are musically and structurally ambitious, Mahoney and McNany seem to struggle with crafting alluring vocal melodies. On their debut, Museum of Love have created a tight debut that seems more interested in its primal appeal than it does its cognitive.
(DFA)Unlike some of his former collaborators, Mahoney drenches his songs in a shimmering gaze of atmospheric haze that allows five-and-six minute synth-compositions sound epic and moody. Although tracks like the echo-laden, Beach Boys-esque "In Infancy", and the whispery, glammy "Learned Helplessness in Rats (Disco Drummer)" are musically and structurally ambitious, Mahoney and McNany seem to struggle with crafting alluring vocal melodies. On their debut, Museum of Love have created a tight debut that seems more interested in its primal appeal than it does its cognitive.