Cut Copy - A Tale of Two Journeys Review

"What are your influences?" is a musician interview question so common I almost feel bad asking it, but for many fans and listeners, this information never gets old. Whether it's to broaden your understanding of an album or find out about some music you haven't heard, we want to know what's grabbing the ears of our favorite bands. This is especially true with a group like Cut Copy, because even more than other current acts, they excel at thoughtful re-appropriation. Like LCD Soundsystem, they're less interested in making that next sound than absorbing the classics and spinning them into something that feels fresh.

Released as a promotional mixtape in conjunction with the excellent Zonoscope, A Tale of Two Journeys gets right to the heart of the influences question. It's filled with music you can easily tell worked as inspiration for the album-- atmospheric, pastoral pop and patiently building dance numbers-- and shows the band as tasteful crate diggers primarily interested in older sounds. (As far as I can tell, the newest song included is Headman's "It Rough", from 2005.) Now, artist-curated tapes are pretty common these days, but this one's a little more special since it's built as an actual DJ mix-- tracks are chopped or extended and strung together as they would be for a club set.

No tracklist accompanies the mix, and Cut Copy were smart to leave it out since part of the fun with something like this is IDing familiar material and hunting down the more obscure cuts. Stylistically there's a nod to the kind of dance mix perfected by Optimo, where non-dance tracks are incorporated when they fit the overall vibe. So in the front half, which is less overtly clubby than the second, you've got stuff like Fleetwood Mac's stomping "Tusk" splitting time with sparkly soul-pop such as Shuggie Otis' "Strawberry Letter 23". Obviously these are timeless tracks, but they feel a little disjointed here and aren't mixed together with the same care as those in the dancier latter section....full text Cut Copy follow in the footsteps of Memoryhouse and Toro Y Moi, dropping a free mixtape of their favorite songs to celebrate the release of their latest record Zonoscope, out now on Modular. It’s a cool mixtape – titled “A Tale of Two Journeys,” it hopscotches genres and styles from shuffle-ready, jazzy soul to chillwave-y electronica to dark, throbbing Bee Gees covers, but it all flows together rather seamlessly into one long, undulating opus. Put this on to get over your winter blues in between listens to the band’s new record....full text