Cccandy – Lonesome Berlin (2010) [Avant!] // Grade: A-

This creepy-cool cover art sort of belies the album. It’s weird, but not scary. Cold, but not brooding. Drugged-out and color washed. Think of it this way: If Cccandy lives in the same rouge-soaked world as 1983 cult film Liquid Sky—and it totally does, with all the grime and glitter and awkward decadence—then every song on Lonesome Berlin is the French boy equivalent to Adrian’s classic “Me And My Rhythmbox” scene. The actual equivalent, of course, was ADULT. (like, almost to the point of mimicry), but even though Lonesome Berlin sounds nothing like Resuscitation, it has the same exotic simplicity. That effortless 8-bit thing that gets you by being just a little off-putting.

Now slam that against an electro culture currently enamored of all things high gloss—even bedroom projects like Memory Tapes reach for the sheen—and Cccandy feels suddenly more deviant. This cryptic project (ostensibly one-man, presumably French) isn’t totally lo-fi, but it definitely doesn’t rely on Ableton or Logic to do its bidding. It’s just neon proto-electro or a lightning shock of minimal wave; haywire robots in cotton-candy costumes, synths buzzing and tangling over static rhythmbox beats. Spoken-word vocals in an echo chamber, like a fucked version of Soft Cell’s “Sex Dwarf” running on broken tape in the background. One of Lonesome Berlin’s best tracks is “Acid A Gogo”, and you know what? The entire album lives up to that name. I mean, you could pony to this stuff at Danceteria. It’s mega-fun, both happy and confrontational, real performance art electro born of French disassociation. Even if, you know, it’s not actually French.

You can stream the whole album via Avant! over at Soundcloud, but jump now if you want a real copy. It’s limited to 300, and trust me: you’ll hate yourself for missing this.

- Rue Sauvage