If Nostalgia Could Kill

http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2009/10/22/music3.html

If Nostalgia Could Kill


On their new EP, If Looks Could Kill, Music for Animals blends some of the best parts of the 1980s dance pop craze with modern indie rock. The song “If Looks Could Kill” is reminiscent of Saturdays on the couch spent watching Duran Duran videos on VH1 Classic. Hints of INXS and The Cure peek out with jangly guitars and echoed vocals as popping hand claps crack out over clubbier bass lines.

It’s not that other modern indie pop musicians haven’t made their own forays into the 1980s for creativity. It’s just that previous efforts have either been obvious single song tributes to the bygone days when MTV actually played music videos or done in irony to poke fun at the excesses of the decade. Music for Animals really does seem to be from the ’80s, which is evident from their careful attention to rhythmic details and lyrics more intent on describing a singular (selfish?) perspective. In songs like “Nervous in NY” and “Change Yourself”, the incessant use of “I,” “me” and “my” seems to reflect the self-centered and sometimes shallow attitude of ’80s popular culture. In fact, these may be the most used words on the album. The EP’s title track seems to confirm this concept as it describes a woman’s appearance with all the swagger of a man wearing a Members Only jacket who just stepped out of an IROC-Z. Music for Animals plays with Blue Horns at 10 pm Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Luckey’s. 21+. $3. — Shaun O’Dell