AMG Review of Polo Club

Rick Anderson
All Music Guide

For a collective that does as much remix work as it does, the Greenskeepers sound an awful lot like a rock & roll band. And not just a rock & roll band, but a '80s rock & roll band -- on their latest album, the lead track sounds an awful lot like a Devo outtake, while "Bedtime" channels Talking Heads to an almost creepy extent, and "15 Minutes" sounds almost like the Cure with Ian Curtis on guest vocals. And yes, that's all a compliment. Electronica is nice and everything, but when a band shows itself to be equally adept at crafting deep electro grooves and writing worthwhile songs, that's pretty impressive. Other highlights on the program include the synth-poppy "A Week Ago" and the charmingly silly "Love Lobotomy," which sounds something like a collaboration between Blondie and Kraftwerk, if you can imagine that. The package comes with a bonus disc: a continuous DJ mix by the Greenskeepers' "electro-percussionist" James Curd featuring deep house remixes of Greenskeepers tracks by a variety of producers and DJs, along with selected cuts by colleagues like One Fingered Pocket, Tracey Cooper and East Coast Boogiemen. Recommended.