Album Review

Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage

• 17th Mar 2008

I’ve got to be honest; I’m a sucker for a good bassline, and new single ‘Golden Cage’ from Berlin-based outfit The Whitest Boy Alive has a ruddy good one.

This track has a real understated groove. There’s no dirty synths, no reverb vocals screaming, “I’m a dance track! I’m a dance track!” Quite the opposite. Mysteriously, despite having a seriously laidback feel where no element is competing with any other and where the music is essentially going around in circles, almost static, it still has this undeniable ‘funk’ to it. I guess it’s The Whitest Boy Alive’s past as an ‘electronic dance music project’ that explains it. Despite having scrapped the programmed elements and toning down the tempo, it hasn’t lost it’s ability to make you want to get on the dance floor within seconds. Frankly, whatever the explanation, I absolutely love it.