Gus Gus 24/7 Genres:Dance & Electronic, Alternative Rock, Special Interest, Pop 2009 release from the Icelandic Electronic act. With six songs spanning over 50 minutes, 24/7 showcases their wealth of musical knowledge in creating some of the most turbulent, engrossing Pop-Techno-House tunes in Dance m... more »usic history. 'Thin Ice' breaks through with it's throbbing bass line and sees Daniel Agust return for the first time since the 4AD years with his triumphant vocal chorus 'I Feel Like Dancing!' that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Their northern souls shine with 'Hateful', a submerged sounding roller coaster that brings forth their remarkable tact for balancing unnerving frequencies with the bliss of modern Pop songwriting. Other highlights include their cover of the classic Jimi Tenor tune 'Take Me Baby' for which they went the extra mile by enlisting Tenor to sing his own song; and the closes with the single, 'Add This Song', one of the album's true shining moments - the emotional persuasiveness of Daniel Agust's voice will caress anyone through this blissful Electro-fied opus!« less
2009 release from the Icelandic Electronic act. With six songs spanning over 50 minutes, 24/7 showcases their wealth of musical knowledge in creating some of the most turbulent, engrossing Pop-Techno-House tunes in Dance music history. 'Thin Ice' breaks through with it's throbbing bass line and sees Daniel Agust return for the first time since the 4AD years with his triumphant vocal chorus 'I Feel Like Dancing!' that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Their northern souls shine with 'Hateful', a submerged sounding roller coaster that brings forth their remarkable tact for balancing unnerving frequencies with the bliss of modern Pop songwriting. Other highlights include their cover of the classic Jimi Tenor tune 'Take Me Baby' for which they went the extra mile by enlisting Tenor to sing his own song; and the closes with the single, 'Add This Song', one of the album's true shining moments - the emotional persuasiveness of Daniel Agust's voice will caress anyone through this blissful Electro-fied opus!
CD Reviews
A slow burn intensity that requires patience on the listener
bowery boy | seattle | 03/04/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Think Gusgus vs. T-World but slow down the tempo a beat or two, lengthen the tracks to an average of 10 minutes each, and add slow burn vocals with angsty lyrics on top (I fight fire with fire when I'm in this state, If I can't find love then I guess I'll hate).
This is a solid 5 star disc but I gave it 4 stars because it could benefit greatly from one additional track to round out its length. Take Me Now/Bremen Cowboy is actually one song. Take Me Now is the 3 minute vocal half and Bremen Cowboy is the 7 minute instrumental dance half. So really you only get 5 tracks, but 5 really, really good tracks.
I've only been an iffy fan of gusgus (the aforementioned vs. T-World album and This Is Normal being my favorites) but I'm loving 24/7 and seemingly the direction they are heading in with their sound.
More please."
Delicious Electro Dance Music
marriediimuzik | dirty jerzey, usa | 01/17/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I adore Gus Gus, my favorite album up to 24/7 was Attention since I really really really LOVED Earths voice. So soulful and smokey. I felt they faltered a little on Forever but 24/7 is something totally different. I cant even compare it to any other Gus Gus cd, to my ears its completely different. I cant stop listening to it, a must have for anyone who likes Gus Gus."
Back on the job
Catfood03 | in front of my computer typing reviews | 10/25/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Gusgus' 6th album "24/7" will be quite a shock to those of us faithfully following this Icelandic band's path since their origins. I've been yearning for Gusgus to return to the style-hopping craft of their debut album Polydistortion. No such luck. What we have on 24/7 is a homogenized work in both sound and style, yet is still the quality artsy pop music that the band does so well. This is an album as an artistic statement, rather than a batch of good singles with other tracks to fill it out.
Good news: Founding member Daniel Agust has returned for full vocal duties on this album, after making only guest appearances on the two previous albums Attention and Forever. Agust's return is very welcome. I always thought he was one of electronic music's most gifted vocalists. There is a quality to his voice I love that embodies both feminine and masculine. He even sounds sweet when threatening violence (as in "Hateful"). The one exception where he doesn't sing lead on is the track "Take Me Baby", which features Jimi Tenor on vocals.
Also of note is that entirely absent from 24/7 is vocalist Earth. I did miss her presence and thought it would've been an added boost to the music here if she could have contributed in some way. One of the strengths of Gusgus as a collective unit early on was to toss into the mix vocals from different band members, which kept the songs more interesting.
It is the music itself, however, that sets 24/7 apart from anything else in the band's cannon. One thing that will be immediately apparent, just by scanning the packaging, is that there are only 6 songs on this album. No, this is not an EP, but a generous 52 minute long-player. Yes, that means most songs are quite lengthy, two of which pass the 10 minute mark. This approach requires more patience on the listener's part, as songs seem to develop slowly and without the big bombastic finales a lengthy track time might suggest (Prog-Rock this ain't).
Gusgus was never a band for multi-layering, preferring to keep song structures minimal, and with the extended song format it's like moving into a mansion with only the furniture from your college dorm room. 24/7 fills this space with much deep bass and odd synth noises. The music progresses at a slow build, but the ideas are more engaging this time around than on more recent Gusgus outings. I'm glad the band decided to change things up again, had they not the same direction would have worn itself out quite thin by this point.
Final Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars
Favorite tracks: "Thin Ice", "Add This Song"
BTW, is it "Gusgus" or "Gus Gus"? (I've seen both used)
"
GusGus' most stripped-down effort to date
Little Bear | Australia | 06/03/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The pop hooks from their earlier work are long gone, as are the more upfront dance sounds found in their last release "Forever". There's still plenty to like about 24/7, but it's mostly minimal and moody. Singles "Add This Song" and "Thin Ice" are by far the standout tracks, but fans of Jimi Tenor will enjoy his contribution on "Take Me Baby"."
