Indie pop as a time-traveling, transcontinental hodgepodge made sense in the 1990s. Maybe it had something to do with the European Union becoming an official entity in 1992, but during the rest of the decade, multi-lingual bands that replicated sonic tricks from different eras seemed interesting. Stereo Total, Pizzicato Five, Cibo Matto, Sukia, Arling & Cameron-- hell, pretty much the entire Emperor Norton stable; these acts wanted nothing more than to find the common cool in bachelor pad lounge, disco, funk, new wave, and the entire family of romance languages. Not surprisingly, these groups frequently referenced the modish mid-60s, another time of great transition, when the world was shrinking because of jet airplanes, space travel, and television, and culture and fashion spread rapidly from one country or continent to the next.
Aggressively international pop may not have the cachet it once did, but it never really went away; last year's debut from New York's Brazilian Girls fit the bill nicely, and so does this record from Spain's Pinker Tones. The Tones are Mr. Furia and Professor Manso, two guys based in Barcelona who first recorded together using the name the BCN Connection. The theme of The Million Colour Revolution fits nicely with the record's sound; the world they look to is pluralistic, inclusive, and hybridized. The songs come in a language for every market-- Spanish, English, French, German-- and the style flips from track to track: bossa nova, spybeat, funk, reggae, even a couple that verge on a capella.
Which leads to the first thing in the Pinker Tones' favor: A good record collection is one thing, but both these dudes can sing. At key points they table the frenetic sampling to stand around the piano and double their voices and simulate a neon-striped barbershop quartet. The arrangement of "Pink Freud" isn't terribly far from the warped choir in miniature Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks were shooting for in the breakdown of "Heroes and Villains"; almost as sharp is the breezy buh-bah-bah-bah lounge bossa nova of "Beyond Nostalgia". Tight arrangements are a constant, but Pinker Tones bring a human touch that strengthens the connection to the styles they emulate.
They also know how to write hooks. The vocal riff on the housey "Sonido Total" is a twice-removed cousin of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" chorus and retains nearly all the smartass whine; the hopelessly caffeinated faux-ska of "Karma Hunters" would be difficult to bear if the chord progression and chorus weren't so catchy. The instrumental "Pinkerland Becaina" sounds like an old Leon Redbone tune that you hear once in the background of a beer commercial and winds up stuck in your head for days. Such straightforward tunefulness should be a requirement for this kind of music, but a lot of bands can't mange it.
Despite the pluses, there's no question that an album like this can be tiring to hear straight through; all the turntable scratches, ironic bits from spoken word records, crashing drums lifted from some late 60s Spector production-- it piles up and wears you out. A certain amount of fatigue is probably built into the aesthetic, but that doesn't detract from how good most tracks sound in isolation. Global indie pop is here to stay and Pinker Tones do it very well.
