- These days everyone in electronic music has a trademark—be it masks, robot suits or a hastily-assembled superhero costume. In Flagranti have soft porn. With tongue lodged firmly in cheek, Alex Gloor and Sasha Crnobrnja use Brash & Vulgar to take us on a journey of sexual discovery via synth-laden electro, disco samples and catchy hooks.
The Brooklyn duo's 2006 debut Wronger Than Anyone Else still seems as relevant and irresistibly catchy now as it did three years ago, no mean feat in the ever-changing world of electro. This time round, the suggestive, grammatically incorrect song titles remain, and so does the sampling. Tatian Ilinas, for instance, pleads "take me, touch me" on "I Can Thrill and Delight," over DAF's krautrock classic "Der Rauber und der Prins." New Yorker Amypop—who sang on In Flagranti's 2004 release Nonplusultra—returns on "Pick a Trick," three minutes of funky disco that evokes images of the Loft in Manhattan circa 1978, which is preceded by "Svelte Blonde," a glittery track with obvious glam rock influences. Meanwhile, the album's title track uses Italo-style synths to great effect. (Producer/superstar DJ/London man-about-town Erol Alkan has already donned his Disco 3000 hat to produce a remix.)
Brash & Vulgar descends into a much darker, more ambient vibe later—a distinct departure from their funky disco. This is not what In Flagranti do best, and the final three tracks on the album are almost instantly forgettable. Whether this was an intentional move to bring the album to a moody close or that they simply needed to tack on some tracks to make it a full-length will probably never be known, though, because the duo retain a defiantly low and obscure profile.
Overall, though, Brash & Vulgar is a superb follow-up, providing exactly what you'd expect from an In Flagranti release; raunchy cover art, cheeky vocals and well-used samples. By all accounts In Flagranti's new live audio-visual show boasts a backdrop of '70s pornography playing on a big screen whilst Sasha and Alex do their thing on decks and laptops. But what else would you expect? After all, Brash & Vulgar by name...
Tracklist 01. She Bend Each Leg Alternatly
02. Brash & Vulgar
03. A Little Something "Extra"
04. I Can Thrill & Delight
05. A Piece of False Morality
06. Black & Grey Stripped Trousers
07. Svelte Blonde
08. Pick a Trick
09. It Was Like Nothing Before Or Since
10. I Hadn't Screwd Around Before
11. Ohh, I'll Have to Try to Loose Weight Luv
12. How Did the Affair End?