Chromeo — Fancy Footwork

There's a fine line between paying tribute to cheesy '80s synth-pop and, well, cheesy '80s synth pop. Chromeo straddle that line on Fancy Footwork, an album that harks to 1984 — before pop lost its innocence, when Janet Jackson was rocking purple pleather on the cover of Dream Street and Ready For The World were confusing the hell out of Prince fans with "Oh Sheila." Montreal duo Dave 1 and P-Thugg's uncanny sax solos, playful keyboard stylings and timeless male posturing are wrapped up in a slick production that's as kitschy as it is catchy. Chromeo capture the era with shocking accuracy, but are so rigidly focused on recreating a specific pop sound that their music lacks freshness and spontaneity. And like many synth pop albums from the early '80s, Fancy Footwork is basically a handful of dance floor hits with mostly filler in between.

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