- Even though Whomp That Sucker! is The Glimmers' third studio album, it kinda feels like their first. 2008's The Glimmers Are Gee Gee Fazzi (Part I and II) was handed out for free at gigs and 2009's Disko Drunkards came as a covermount CD for DJ Mag readers. Twisting the industry's distribution rules is a noble thing, but it unfortunately gave the actual releases a semi-official, half-baked aura (a move only made more puzzling by the fact The Glimmers have been running their own label, the eternally reliable Eskimo Recordings, for more than a decade now).
Whereas the 2008/09 material emphasized the duo's music's livelier side, recalling the heterosexual disco of LCD Soundsystem or the icy disco-not-disco of Playgroup/Trevor Jackson, Whomp That Sucker! is an overall more electronic affair. Now signed to Gomma, you can discern the distant gaze of new stablemates Munk and Telonius all over the nine tracks collected here. It's as effervescent, discoid and punchy as anything the Munich-based label has released this year.
At first, a song like "Soul Train" does exactly what it says on the tin by emulating Boney M-like horns & funk, but it perverts the entire thing midway through with acidic motifs, a trick also repeated on the title track and on "Patty Cake Online." "Killing Jokes" and "Awake," meanwhile, both come across as beefier and more structured takes on the sort of bearded Norwegian dance Eskimo followers know so well.
The duo' productions aren't always so focused, though: "Cbeebies" is an impressionistic jam that is FX-laden with echoes and warped effects but without a noticeable hook. "Nehru Park" is the mandatory slower album-closing cut that recalls Ray Mang's take on nu-Balearica (e.g. his "Look Into My Eyes" cut on DFA earlier this year). Word to the wise as well: If you thought the consistent use of cowbells as a percussive tool would have grown tiresome by now, this isn't the album for you. But overall, The Glimmers seem galvanized this time by the all-out, energetic bootlegs they produced under the Buffalo Jams moniker and compiled earlier this year. For a first "official" album, Whomp That Sucker! reeks of panache and bravado.
Tracklist 01. U Rocked My World
02. Soul Train
03. Whomp That Sucker
04. Killing Jokes
05. Beats In Space
06. Patty Cake Online
07. Awake
08. CBeebies
09. Nehru Park