- After Hercules & Love Affair's 2008 success, other so-called disco collectives emerging from New York City are bound to attract attention, no matter how they actually sound. The Phenomenal Handclap Band deserve as much notice as any such group, having opened for Simian Mobile Disco's recent North American tour and infiltrating Europe via the always reliable Gomma imprint. But while Hercules & Love Affair's main man Andy Butler musical influences range from the likes of Inner City to acid house and synth pop, it seems TPHB were more into funk and AM rock, disco's other American cousins.
It makes for an interesting sound, trading disco's urban hedonism for an experience more akin to pagan-like psychedelia. In the band's own words, it's dance music made by a rock band. For everyone in attendance as they opened for Simian Mobile Disco, it felt more like Jefferson Airplane meets ABBA. Sans hallucinogenic enhancement. The mid-'70s vibe isn't that surprising in itself, mind you. After all, both Prins Thomas and Lindstrøm have admitted the influence, for example, of AM rockers Fleetwood Mac on their take on nü-disco, and you can hear the impact an album like Rumors has had, in terms of instrumentation and arrangements, on Thomas and Lindstrøm's two long players for Eskimo.
But whereas those two opt for meandering jams, TPHB's seven members take their harpsichord, vibraphone, and other congas to unifying effect. It does make some sense in a live context, as it is a band that has to be seen as much as they want to be heard… even though you'll never really know if the end result is pure pastiche or pure parody. And, besides, debating whether what seems to be a genuinely plaintive song like "Baby" is an incarnation of sincere musicianship or, on the contrary, a perfect example of Baudrillardian simulacrum seems pointless, even off-putting. This is a feeling that is also encapsulated to perfection by stony-faced titles such as "The Journey to Serra Estrala," "The Martyr" and "The Circle is Broken," by the communalist and vaguely esoteric artwork, or just by the band's hair.
If you're like me, you've probably encountered TPHB through the plethora of remixes that accompanied the releases of the (rather splendid, let's be honest) "You'll Disappear" and "15 to 20" singles. The likes of Horse Meat Disco, Jacques Renault, Glimmers, Munk, Prins Thomas and Telonius, just to name a few, all enhanced the dance floor-friendly elements of the two songs to the detriment of their rockier characteristics. Surely, they'll make you feel the proverbial beat from their tambourines, but the folk-like acoustic take on disco and funk is obviously rendered pointless by Hercules & Love Affair, especially in live settings. Turns out, then, NYC isn't big enough for two disco-reviving collectives after all.
Tracklist 01. The Journey to Serra Da Estrella
02. All of the Above
03. Testimony
04. Give It a Rest
05. You'll Disappear
06. 15 to 20
07. Dim the Lights
08. I Been Born Again
09. The Martyr
10. Tears
11. Baby
12. The Circle Is Broken