By Amanda Hu
The Cansecos have had an interesting career so far. Releasing their first, self-titled album in 2003, they managed to make a mild dent and then disappeared into the music industry abyss. No one heard from the Toronto troupe until a free, 40-minute album, Juiced, appeared on their website. Interweb users could download the A-side and B-side of the album and listen to the band’s beats to their heart’s content. The group is now back in radar with their newest full-length release, Juices!
Juices! is an admittedly dancey album. The group mixes it up with funky synth beats and vocoder-like vocals. The album’s title track is a minute-long musical spritzfest that gives the album an odd opening and makes the listener very curious about what to expect. “Raised By Wolves” starts off with a funky guitar riff and a poppy, upbeat-emphasizing groove. By contrast, “Fight Yellow” is a fast-paced keyboard-driven track that floats in and out of dissonant chords. This song bleeds into the track “Fog, Smoke, Steam” that rides on an ’80s-inspired synth horn background and laid-back bass line with haunting vocals that talk about dreams and secrets.
With Juices!, the Cansecos have made a good go at getting back into the minds of new wave fans everywhere.