Topical Dancer is propulsive, playful, and political
Last week’s recommendation, that of Sotomayor Wabi-Sabihas a very particular atmosphere that you don’t find in many records. One of the few things that reminded me was 2022. Topical dancer by Charlotte Adigery and Bolis Pupul, which I ended up revisiting a lot this week.
The two records don’t seem particularly similar at first glance. But they’re both rough around the edges, smash-ups of electronic and organic elements packaged to be dropped on the dancefloor. The way the sounds and rhythms fit together seems very much of the same ilk.
There are of course differences. Important ones. Adigery and Pupul are more inspired by rock and early electronic music, sometimes evoking groups like the Talking Heads. The basslines on tracks like “Ceci N’est Pas un Cliché” eliminate any reservations you might have about throwing your hands in the air and waving them around like you’re not paying attention.
However, it’s not all empty fun. Topical dancer the political commentary is almost as sharp as its bass lines. On “Blenda,” Adigery chants, “Go back to your country, where you belong. Siri, can you tell me where I belong?” over percussive synthesized bass and 80s drum machine hits.
On “Esperanto,” she gives winking advice to people who say problematic things: “Don’t say ‘But I have the right to say that because I grew up in a black neighborhood,’ say ‘My neighbor,'” tracing the nnn sound for much longer than is comfortable. And “Don’t say ‘White people can’t dance,’ say ‘Tom marches to the beat of a different drum,'” delivering each delightfully off-kilter syllable, in what sounds like the musical equivalent of a cringe comedy.
However, it is not just about confrontational eliminations of racists, xenophobes and misogynists. There’s the album’s final highlight, “HAHA,” in which Adigery laughs for nearly four minutes, only occasionally interrupting to say, “I guess you had to be there.”
