This project is named after a fake movie from TV’s “Arrested Development,” and the song titles, and also the title of this tape, Jacks, are all “Twin Peaks” references. I guess I just thought I should make sure everyone realized that, although I’m not exactly sure how the information relates to the music of Les Cousins Dangereux, which is… well, it’s a bit hard to define. In fact, there’s no real definite genre for what’s going on here. They Live We Sleep calls it “ambient-electronic,” and for as broad a descriptor as that is, I guess Jacks fits in there somewhere. The label also attributes the “Twin Peaks” references to “the duality of LCD’s procedure and final product. The dread of a nightmare you will never awaken from, and the serenity of Love Theme.” Yeah, that’ll work for now.
A couple of elements we can examine at the very least: beats ‘n’ synths. Lots of both of those things are to be found on the tape, although more of the former on side A, and the latter on side B. And each occupies a space on the crunchier end of the sonic spectrum with the synths often sounding like they’re ripping their way through a paper barrier to get through to your ears, while the bass seems like it’s vibrating the paper cones of a hundred torn woofers. Underneath it all is something hot and volcanic that gives the entire tape an air of nervous tension… like the whole damn thing could boil over at any minute. But it never does — Jacks remains wound tight to its center, totally indebted to either the groove or the atmosphere. And the groove stomps and the atmosphere floats, and altogether it’s really quite the lovely excursion. Les Cousins Dangereux, despite having created something that’s pretty hard to pin down, manages to tickle those basic listening pleasure centers anyway, all the while being insatiably mysterious.
More about: Les Cousins Dangeroux
