Review Summary: Groove Crusaders funkify their past; your future.
A lion, a robot, an astronaut, and a man wearing a cone on his head walk into a bar. There's no real way to create a punchline to that opener, but luckily, Tupper Ware Remix Party are not a joke, appearance and gimmicks aside. Touting themselves as groove crusaders from the future, this group of extremely talented musicians are bringing back the funk.
One need only listen to
The Hit, the true standout from this EP to get the head bobbing and the rest of the body grooving. Featuring Ninja Sex Party (Dan Avidan of Game Grumps fame, and Ninja Brian Wecht), it's a song that exhibits everything the band is about
: infectious, catchy jams. Bassist Commander Meouch is at the forefront of things to take note of, shining at every moment with his slap skills amazing throughout multiple fills and amazing licks. However, in
The Hit, all members manage to share the spotlight. Lord Phobos' crunchy guitar tone and solos lend an aggressive edge to the funk styling. Havve Hogan, the drummer, serves more as a metronome, but manages to keep his beats varied enough so as to hold interest. A shredding solo builds the song up in a false crescendo, culminating in a vocoded scat from Doctor Sung, vocalist and keyboard/synth player. All this before a final chorus smashes into a wall of sound, creating the most aggressive moment on the record.
The Hit may shine brightest on this short EP, but luckily the other tracks don't fall far from the tree in terms of quality.
Prismatic Core is a slow jam of sorts, featuring sound bites from the Blizzard game StarCraft, urging one to perhaps consider building more pylons, or accrue additional vespene gas.
Japanquest, meanwhile, wouldn't sound out of place in a side-scrolling beat 'em up or space flyer game from the SNES or Sega Genesis era. That is, until the saxophone comes flying in.
ICQ is full of exuberance, barely letting up for a somewhat extraneous guest spot from DJ Skratch Bastid, whose extended scratch break adds little but length to the track.
ICQ only gets more outrageous as the track progresses, possibly to the point of being overzealous; between the madness of the slap bass, the squalling guitar, Doctor Sung's vocals (which are never heard without his trusty vocoder), and a guest singer's soulful wailing.
The Hit and
ICQ boast the most singing on the EP, though vocals are kept more to a minimum throughout. Used more as an accent than a focusing point, the vocoder never seems over-utilized or overdone, showing a pleasant sense of restraint.
2Nite manages to pump a ton of energy into a short 20 minutes. Combined of genres that can easily overstay their welcome (synthpop, electronic, and funk), TWRP show off their talent and their sense of fun without going too over the top. Most of all though, if you're looking for something to shake your booty to, Tupper Ware Remix Party have got you covered.
