CHICKS ON SPEED 99¢ (Chicks on Speed Records) Rating: NN
Rating: NN
Evidently, news of the demise of electroclash has not yet reached artsy Berlin pop provocateurs Chicks on Speed, who continue with the usual fashionista send-ups and low-budget bleepery on their new 99¢ disc. The monotone faux rapping and throwback synth dweet no longer sound as fresh and novel as they did before the whole 80s revival onslaught. Four years ago, doing a cover of Tom Tom Club’s Wordy Rapping Hood with guest vocals from Tiny Weymouth, Miss Kittin and Le Tigre would’ve been a powerful, community-galvinizing statement of unity, but now the quaint gathering of also-rans just seems kind of sad and pathetic. If you’re going to be trendy, you need to be timely.
