Like many of the artists on the Morr Music label, Lali Puna combines the indie rock mentality with electronic tones. As noted, they've been heavily influenced by Stereolab, not merely instrumentally, but Valerie Trebeljahr's dreamy, ethnically-inflected delivery prompted AMG to call her a "long-lost sister to Stereolab's Lætitia Sadier." That's not to say that they're completely retro. Valerie guests on fellow Morrite Styrofoam's Nothing's Lost, and Lali remixed Dntel's masterpiece, "(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan," which provided my introduction to the band. The percussion and guitar work on "Micronomic" sounds downright Bloc Partyesque.
But there's some else entirely at work here.
As noted in an article in Eye Weekly, had My Bloody Valentine continued, they could very well have pulled a Kid A and gone completely electronic post-Loveless. I've witnessed the density capacity of synths, but there's also a very mellow, brooding quality to shoegaze that, strangely enough, is duplicated by more minimal electronica. In fact, the Morr label released a compilation of Slowdive covers, and Lali contributes an excellent take on "40 Days." It's a pretty incredible testament to the diffusion of genres, and makes me wonder why we bother with them at all.
Again, if you'd like to hear any of those above recordings, I'd be happy to reload them for you. Just leave a comment below or email me.
This set was recorded at the 2004 Benicàssim Music Festival, which ran from August 5th to 8th. There are some technical difficulties (it's nice to know I'm not the only one), but it's a good introduction to the band.
Enjoy:
1. Faking the Books
2. Call 1-800-Fear
3. Don't Think
4. B-Movie
5. Small Things
6. Rapariga da Banheira
7. Scary World Theory
8. Grin and Bear
9. Micronomic
10. Left Handed
Macronomic: Here
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