The Big Pink - Dominos [Single]

4AD

September 9, 2009, 08:11 AM

Views: 653   Comments: 3

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First you guys should all listen to this single, I wasn’t impressed. It struck me as fairly unimaginative slab of retro synth-pop. On second listen I started to get annoyed. It felt clinical AND cynical: an aiming-for-across-the-board-appeal, radioplay-courting Frankenstein’s monster, bolting indie-lad swagger to electro-pop all stitched together with a faint 80s industrial vibe but the whole song is distinctly lacking in passion. And then there is that chorus (“these girls fall like dominos, dominos, dominos”) that the song launches with - a bit of lad-about-town bragging which together with the cover artwork left me (signed-up member of PC brigade I am) despairing.

But wait. Another play or two and something shifted for me both musically and lyrically. The chorus became an inescapable loop playing in my head. All the things that annoyed me about the song above suddenly became positives and the lyrics are less about conquests and more about the inability to maintain relationships I think:

So possibly a bit of vulnerability creeping in?

I have shifted from unimpressed and annoyed; but I still remain cynical. Clearly this sledgehammer-chorus-wielding, NME-friendly chant-along has the potential for a huge following. but I’m not totally won over. It IS still clinical and I don’t believe it will endure as there is no real depth beneath the surface. I am prepared to give The Big Pink further listening and maybe I need to hear 'Dominos' in the context of the rest of the album (out this month and being reviewed elsewhere here by Matt D - due soon).

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