Propellerheads — Decksanddrumsandrockandroll
Have you got a mission? Well, the Propellerheads are going to soundtrack it for you; or perhaps they already have.
Here’s your homework! You can find the album on Spotify so you can gear up for your mission in style.
How’s that for a title? It’s pretty straightforward and, really, is exactly what you’ll get when you sit down to listen to this big beat machine. Decksanddrumsandrockandroll is an album that holds a few little tracks that make you go “HEY! It’s that track!” It’s an album that says it all — Cool Folk Don’t Look at Explosions. That’s the fucking cover. It’s telling you to buckle in and find that swagger to walk away from that explosion and PUT YOUR SUNNIES ON.
This, much like Overseer’s “Wreckage”, featured a lot in the late 90s to early 00s with the Propellerheads finding their way into iPod ads, lobby shootout scenes and James Bond themes. It’s also the duo’s only album before they disappeared into smaller projects.
Decks (I’m not saying the full name) spits cracking, sharp breaks over sassy jazz sampling. It’s a record that feels more like letting its hair down and running free and confident, and while it has those breakneck bits the album fuses its fast and slow paced moments incredibly well.
And perhaps that’s why it’s such an electrifying listen? The record isn’t afraid of mixing its genre approach and that’s thanks to the unifying nature of the band’s drums. They’re everywhere, they’re full of energy and they’re fun.
The opening tune Take California is the perfect exemplar of what you’ll get from Decks; a groovy bassline, big-time chunky drums that all guide you on a cruise to the next mission, but it’s not without distorted jazzy grabs that appear throughout the album.
Velvet Pants keeps things a little less spy movie and more funky and kept to the dancefloor. It’s a cheeky little tune that is light, fun, holds onto its jazz elements, but you thought it was gonna keep it light? Nope. The track works hard until it builds and builds into an acid-lead monster that reminds you of the game you’re playing.
Arguably one of the funnest moments on the album is the excellent History Repeating, a collaboration with the marvelous Dame Shirley Bassey; a voice that melts into your ears with bombastic charm and true control. You’ll also know her voice from some Bond themes! Goldfinger, Moonraker, and Diamonds Are Forever. History Repeating is a big room number filled with a full jazz band, sustained horns, and fun keys all while Bassey’s vocals running the show; if you’re a Lefty’s fan this tune is the one you’d be hearing on constant rotation there.
The Bond ties don’t stop there. Their remix of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service modernises the original theme with a trademark drum break, a crunchy synth all blended into the funkiest of guitars. All of it plays so nicely that it fits perfectly in the pantheon of Bond of yesteryear and today.
The album comes to a close with the one-two track punch of Cominagetcha, a quasi-almost-revisit of Take California. Groove-riddled drums, big horns attacking and decaying throughout, it’s a track that slowly leads us into the closer that is…
Spybreak! the tune the duo are best known for. Amping up the true originality of The Matrix lobby fight scene with the famous scratch into Neo and Trinity unloading their arsenal in a bid to rescue Morpheus. A track that lays down a mighty tough bassline, scratches, vocal pops hidden under the hood as grooves that wriggle around the drums. It’s the perfect closer to the album as a whole as it blends the ‘Heads best bits into one epic whole.
Decksanddrumsandrockandroll is so deftly able to pick out its string sections and plant its remix flag proudly all while keeping it mixed and fun. I think that’s what I’ve garnered re-listening to this so many times. I always have fun and always feel like a bit of a dance or a drive and that’s important. It may not be groundbreaking in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a fun album. It’s fun to blast loud, it’s fun to drive to, it’s fun to put on when you need to focus and sometimes that’s exactly the melting pot that you need.
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