DJ Obake, at first brush, just makes solid dance music. Listen to “Bubblicious ’99” and admire how the track builds up to a great moment of catharsis, where shiny synth beams break through the song and make it even more triumphant. Good dance track! Or the funhouse that is “I Hate This World,” which sounds positively giddy with it’s candy apple synths and piano, the whole affair sounding like Dan Deacon turned DJ. Guy knows how to make a great song to move to.
But then there is “Lovely Boys, Lovely Bones.” Opening up with what sounds like a trumpet rung through a ColecoVision, the song swirls about for a bit until some jittery pitch-shifted noises rise up midway through. Despite a persistent beat, this song sounds closer to the genre-screwing art rock of Gang Gang Dance than club music. Specifically, “Vacuum.” Listen here.