Featuring two U.S. electro ex-pats based in Berlin,
Duct Tape is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalists
Batsauce (Britt Traynham) and Wynton Kelly Stevenson, although this slab of wobbly swagger funk could also have come from
Chromeo on mushrooms. Think
Kool Keith swapping his paranoia for a party platter or platform shoes, and the weird disco magic of
Less We Can is at hand, although it's also worth noting that
Batsauce and Stevenson don't commit to anything past the three-minute mark. Highlights like "Don't Stop" and "Party" must be smushed together in order to get a five-minute fix of funk, while the angelic "It's All Love" blows away in the breeze after just a minute-and-a-half, acting like
A.R. Kane for those with ADD or dream pop for those who just catnap. If all this complaining about run times seems excessive, it's because
Less We Can seems more like an index of ideas than a fully formed album, but those who think
Parliament-Funkadelic,
Prince, or Sly Stone would be better if they didn't jam so much can get their fill, and then some. Weird, and almost even wonderful,
Duct Tape are onto something, even if the aptly titled
Less We Can seems more a sampler than a statement. ~ David Jeffries