A Monterrey, Mexico-based indie dance-pop quintet,
Quiero Club are proof that hipsterism has gone global. Their funky programmed beats and '80s retro melodies (played on guitar and vintage synths), whether sung in English or Spanish (or both), would fit right into any club in Brooklyn. "Minutos de Aire" features a melody line
Talking Heads wouldn't have turned down, while the album's title track plays with dub in a way
the Clash did thirty years ago, with a dispassionate female vocal reminiscent of
Debbie Harry. There are some unexpected touches, like the choir sound (generated with a keyboard) on "Fin de Semana Sin Fin" or the brief appearance of a
New Order-style upper-register bassline on "La Muerte de Ziggy," but for the most part this is a cool, fun-oriented electronic pastiche with no ambitions beyond partying. Oh, except for the artsy epic "It's All About the Dun Dun," which runs over seven minutes, shifting from new wave alt-rock to stomping techno, then adding a honking saxophone for a powerful cumulative effect that's somewhere between
Depeche Mode,
Placebo, and the solo work of
Wall of Voodoo frontman
Stan Ridgway. Listening to the rest of the album, it's hard to figure out where a song this weird, dark, and impressive came from. But it proves that
Quiero Club are more than just five art students joking around for their -- and our -- entertainment. ~ Phil Freeman