Gladhanding – Gladhanding

I really, really like this release from the Montreal electronics trio Gladhanding. In a construction that I would describe as benevolent chaos, a vast assemblage of electro debris, vintage pop, hip-hop and a little R’n’B is presented to us with great conviction. The seemingly dishevelled whole appears stable and very solid once you look at it as a whole.

Some tracks stand out powerfully: “Chewgum Teardown” with its both epic and lyrical character (thanks to the addition of a children’s choir), “Sweat the Divine” with its chopped beats, loops of faux glitches, and mineralized voices, “Having Fun” and its radical bipolarity between a rather dreamy intro and a finale propelled like a mad runner.

The group describes itself with a plethora of keywords : cyborg animal squeal panic attack euphoric death rattle confetti induced vomit session broken ribs acid mouthwash electroshock hypnotherapy bottle rocket cap gun lollipop myth hot wheels seven car pile up porcupine waterbed orgiastic rainbow clown convention…

And it goes on like that for twice as long. If it seems borderline aggressive to you, think again: there’s good humour oozing from one end of the album to the other, and even a kind of dishevelled tenderness.

Gladhanding achieves what, let’s face it, very few bands still manage to do: surprise and seduce us at the same time.