I’ve rocked a little bit to Trabajo in my day. Sure, everybody probably
has by now – the duo of Yuchen Lin and TJ Richards have been knocking around
the NYC for a few years now, so I’m sure you’ve been to one of their shows. And
if, like me, your entry point was their excellent 7-inch Gamelan
to the Love God, then you know the utter chaos these two can conjure.
Prepare to slamdance, once again, Neo Tokyo style, but maybe only in your head
if you’re some kind of telepathic mutant. (Please don’t do a live-action Akira, Hollywood, promise me this!)
Lucky Dollar City was
released by JMC Aggregate as part of their “Organechs” series, six short
cassette releases to accompany visual art by James Moore. Not hard to see why
Trabajo rates so highly for this kind of collection – they’ve really progressed
as musicians and composers since Gamelan (which
is still great). Not only do they continue to trade in Eastern-influenced
electronic dance music, but they also refuse to be pinned down by style.
Indeed, though the album begins with the gamelan-inflected stylings of “The
Thoughtographer (Parts 1 & 2),” any sense of normalcy is banished in the
wild Looney Tunes breakdowns. And
once that’s through, electro-synth workout “Loglo” announces Trabajo simply as electronic music mavens, free to head in
whatever direction they please.
It’s still great that they hang out in Eastern territory too, as they
do on “Rococo Heart” and the title track which wraps the album. Come for that,
stay for this: they do a remarkable HEALTH impersonation on “Architectural
Fiction,” perhaps my new favorite Trabajo song (it’s that metallic bass tone
that draws the connection). They also dabble in instrumental hip hop on “YC
Boom,” a nice path down which to sidetrack. And “From Ten Sides” is a distorted
horrorphonic head-melter that’s tossed in there because why not? Here’s why:
it’s awesome.
So’s the rest of Lucky Dollar
City. If you haven’t had the intense pleasure of introducing yourself to
the band, let this one be your guide. It’s the perfect entry point.
--Ryan Masteller
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