Django Django - Glowing in the Dark

Django Django arrived fully-formed with an unmistakable sonic identity which earned them a Mercury nod in 2012. The group’s sound is so pungent with their own unique splash of airy vocals, glitchy electronics and rustic grooves, it’s sometimes hard to differentiate one track from the next. This is no bad thing if you’re smitten with their sound - and fourth album ‘Glowing In The Dark’ embraces a more rustic approach favouring dusty synths and guitar over the glossy sheen of predecessor ‘Marble Skies’. ‘Spirals’ opens with a slowly accelerating arpeggiator that beams you directly into the world of ‘Glowing In The Dark’, a thundering bass line lurks as Vincent Neff’s trademark vocal traces something falling out of control; “higher and higher in spirals, turning in circles in silence”. The shuffle of ‘Got Me Worried’ certifies the group’s penchant for playful percussion still holds strong. Charlotte Gainsbourg is a welcome guest spot on ‘Waking Up’, soothingly circling Vincent’s vocal around an acoustic guitar-strut peppered with some nifty keywork and chiming chords. But the groove-based, dance-leaning moments are where Django Django really shine though. The buzzy synth of ‘The Ark’ intertwines with a spidering drum pattern that becomes increasingly hypnotic. Later, ‘Hold Fast’ finds slinky basslines and chirruping keys colliding to stunning effect. Whether the group’s sound prevails or begins to show its limitations remains to be seen, but when the songwriting and appetite for invention remains this strong, Django Django certainly have a lot more to give.