Django Django

Editors’ Notes The Scottish quartet Django Django is full of contradictions and ironies. The group's vocals are almost monotone, with a hint of robotic delivery, but the glassy sheen and layering (not to mention the songs’ melodic, chant-inflected backbones) manage to recall the harmonics of The Beach Boys and Grizzly Bear. There are plenty of guitars, yet the overall vibe on first listen is one that pulses more with digital gadgetry and minimalist tribal drumming. And the name: well, you really have to use a little imagination to hear any trace of guitar great Django Reinhardt, even in the hyperventilating buzz of “Wor” or the playful, slightly jazzy acoustic work on “Firewater.” Django Django filters several worlds of musical ideas into sounds that are propulsive, exciting, and sometimes surprising. The early single tracks “Storm” and ”Love Dart” have majestic, dreamy qualities that feel otherworldly in a Yeasayer kind of way. “Skies Over Cairo” brims with clattering drums, burbling synths, and organs bleating out vaguely Middle Eastern melodies. But tunes like the deadly catchy “Default” and the surf-stompers “Wor” and “Life’s a Beach” are real dance-floor burners.