oh my, lo?
so I saw Mylo (co-owner of Scotland-based Breastfed Records) perform his first-ever US show with a live (!) band at Rothko in the LES last night, and whoa. I mean fucking whoa. we were front row, and though I hear it wasn't loud enough in the back, but it sounded dope as hell where we were standing. you've heard Mylo before on music.for-robots, but I wanted to give some exposure to the album tracks that didn't get 12"/CD single treatment in the US, because in my humble opinion, the singles are second citizen to every other track on the album.
as said before, Mylo hails from the island of Skye, which is this gorgeous hunk of moss and rock off the northwest coast of the Scottish highlands. I was there for a week or two once, and the fun Skye fact is that english is apparently the official second language to Gaelic. I heard Mylo first in Amsterdam, and while Drop the Pressure and Destroy Rock and Roll are fun little discopop tracks, seeing him live made it clear beyond all doubt that rock has been a huge influence on Mylo's work. for one thing, he opened with a cover of the intro to Van Halen's Jump, but throughout his debut LP, Destroy Rock and Roll, you'll hear bits and pieces that make you think back to awesome, synth and big-boner guitar solo rock and roll. you know, the stuff that everyone pretends not to like. or maybe I'm just overly sentimental about hair bands. whatever. what the album fails to capture in using synth bass lines and sequenced riffs was totally brought out by the live bass and rock guitar the way Tabasco brings out the flavor in just about anything. it rocked.
what's more, his music takes a different approach to disco/pop/dance/rock music than most other groups making similar music who I also like. his music puts rock first, and builds dance music around it as a central influence. there is a noticable difference in the final product when you contrast it against something like Daft Punk that takes dance and pop and tries to spin rock out of it, or the entire post-punk bandwagon which has taken rock and run it full steam back into dance music. it's all the dance fun without the pop guilt. like cheap beer with no hangover.
I got to talk to Mylo for a minute after they were done, and while he said his album is still hunting for a US release vehicle, it's on its way. in the meantime, you should see him if he rolls through your town (in Miami tonight), and you can [order his CD as an import], or buy the 12" singles at your local vinyl dealer.