Posted on 06/29/2009
If there’s one thing that most cultures all over the world have in common, it’s the affinity, and to some, the necessity to dance. Because of that need, there will always be a place for dance music in the world. But when speaking critically about dance music, especially the electronic, and house forms of it, one has to consider if its really music that should be listened to. I have to say, that for me… not quite.

Canadian super-producer, Tiga, is back with his second full length LP, Ciao!, which is a big deal seeing as though he is coming off a Juno victory for his last album, Sexor. But Tiga’s experimental style, and adventurous lyrical endeavors come across as reaching, and often down right strange, in a bad way. Right Said Fred, is strange in a good way, so we know it’s possible. But songs like “Mind Dimension,” which does nothing but annoy, and the arbitrarily written, “Shoes,” which does feature an interesting sample of a woman walking in high-heels, are strange in a bad way. A really bad way. And don’t even get me going on the corny, “Sex O’Clock.”

Musically it’s, well…it’s dance music. It’s constant and pulsing, which technically is the only requirement. The creative decisions Tiga makes are often courageous, sometimes creating drastic shifts that create different dynamics, but sometimes seem totally masturbatory.

All in all, you can dance to Ciao! You can dance all night to it. But you could also dance all night to the sound of flatulence if it were sampled and set at a 100 bpm. Aside from that, there is nothing here. Nothing but silly, trite, phrases, white noise, and a poor attempt at something different.

- Jason Reynolds