Review - Dragonette - Bodyparts

Dragonette has been around for a number of years now (the pop band was founded in 2005), but only in the past year or two has their star really begun to rise. Ever since being featured on EDM producer Martin Solveig’s “Hello”, the band has gained more and more momentum. If there was ever a time for them to really make it big, this is it.

Not only is this the time to make things happen, this is the album to make all their dreams come true. ‘Bodyparts’ is easily the Canadian trio’s best album. The dance factor has been upped to meet Solveig and Kaskade (with whom they have also featured), but not so much as to alienate their original fans. Every single track on the album makes you jump up out of your seat and move, and many of the songs actually command you to.

“My Legs” is a story about how lead singer Martina Sorbara can’t help but go out – her legs are forcing her. “Run Run Run” starts the album off alright, but the full-fledged beat doesn’t entirely kick in until second single “Live In This City” which is powerpop at its finest. Next comes “Let It Go”, the official lead single, and from there on out the game is over. They’ve got you moving and the LP never relents.

Synths border on electro most of the time, but the band brings in guitars on tracks like “My Work Is Done” to show you that they are, in fact, still a band. The focus is on Martina, but the album is clearly a collaborative effort. What I find most impressive is that the band is doing this whole thing DIY. They don’t have a label (the label credited with this release is “Dragonette, Inc.”), and production was helmed by the band themselves.

‘Bodyparts’ was instantly one of my favorite releases of the year. Pop, but with an edge. Dance, but softer and more likeable. So commercial, yet never too mainstream. I’ve always been a fan of Dragonette in one context or another, but this one is a game changer.

Listen to: Every single song, especially “Let It Go”, “Live In This City”, “Right Woman”, “My Legs”, “Riot”, and “Ghost”