Stream: The Chain Gang of 1974, ‘Sleepwalking’

Kevin Bronson on February 28th, 2014

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The 1980s have been watered down so much we’re pretty sure they’re drowned somewhere in a bathtub. First place I’d look is wherever the Chain Gang of 1974 live. To review, TCGO1974 migrated from Denver to L.A. a few years ago, released the justifiably ignored album “Wayward Fire” in 2011 (3,100 copies sold) and then made a splash last year with the single “Sleepwalking,” which appeared on the soundtrack to “Grand Theft Auto V,” a subliminal message if there ever was one. It’s one thing to grant a hall pass to young artists for nicking bands whose heydays were 30 years ago, but “Sleepwalking” (along with songs from fellow plunderers like FMLYBND) seemed so close to M83’s monstrous hit “Midnight City” I was surprised there weren’t lawyers involved.

Maybe it’s just me, I thought? Maybe I’m just too harsh? So I solicited outside opinions from people who know more about music than I do. I found this reply instructive: “Yes, Bronson, all three of these tracks bear a striking resemblance to M83’s ‘Midnight City’ but none so much as ‘Sleepwalking.’ Nearly identical in tempo, the song begins with synths and an affected vocal hook, has a spot-on ripoff of Midnight City’s 1-bar drum fill, then launches into multiple repetitions of the established hook with dense, powerful sonics behind it. When the verses arrive both tracks get sparse, carried almost entirely by a simple drum pattern and heavily affected male lead vocals. The end of the verse is signaled by a quotation of the original 1-bar drum fill which leads back into the original hook. Rinse and repeat. … There’s no question in my mind that the arrangement of ‘Midnight City’ was reverse-engineered and this song is simply a paint-by-numbers exercise. It’s a testament to the strength of the original design that even its counterfeits are this sturdy.”

TCGO1974’s new album “Daydream Forever” came out Feb. 4. These are on it:

||| Stream: “Sleepwalking” and “You”