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Funklovers Elementary Penguin released this single a few weeks before their full-length No 1. With a Bullet. Having heard many good reports about Penguin, I decided to find out for myself what all the hype was about.

The answer didn't take long to come. A minute into the opening title track, you know Elementary Penguin is a band doing something new, in a really old way. No other band comes to mind that could serve as an adequate comparison. But then again, that's probably because I don't know that much about the eighties pop/surf rock scene. Stylistically speaking, Elementary Penguin fall into that category. Still, there's a lot more going on than that would suggest.

The three songs (the fourth is a remix of 'Da Funkhaters') reveal a combination of funk, pop, surf and old disco vibes. A really fresh mix, that for some reason constantly made me think of the evil villain (what was his name?) in Mystery Men, who promised his disco-loving accomplices that "disco will rule the city once again" (that's a rough quote).

Part of the beauty of Penguin's music is that it is really accessible. This could do well on alternative radio and contemporary radio. Who knows, maybe there will be a funk revival, as happened with swing? Maybe "disco will rule the city once again".

Eric Daams 11/6/2000