Mobius Band: Indiepop and irony
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Tags: Mobius Band, Mp3, Soundtrack, visual analysis
When I blogged about the Radiohead-OK X-Tributes a few weeks ago, I became aware of Mobius Band. At the time, I was impressed by their idiosyncratic interpretation of “Subterranean Homesick Alien”: the deeply sad original was transformed into a pounding piece somewhere between drum’n’bass and indie pop, with echo loops and atmospherically swirling sounds.
Then, a few weeks later, I came across their track “Friends Like These” from the current album on Tonspion. I have since bought it. Melancholic indie vocals lie over a warm, somehow droning analog synth. And this contrast between delicate melancholy and experimental, slightly weird keyboard sounds runs through all of their music.
There is a free cover version of it available on the Valentingstag EP. It includes - how could it be otherwise with this topic - beautiful interpretations of recordings by Neil Young or Bob Dylan. And, my favorite, a transformed version of Daft Punks “Digital Love”. Those who know the original with its cool vocoder voices can only marvel at how much warmth and closeness Mobius Band puts into the song again without losing its structure. “Why don’t you play the gaaaaaaaaaame…”
And since I cannot write about an EP without paying attention to the cover: once again, the contrast between the classic love theme (butterflies! roses! ornaments! pink!) and somehow ironic elements that break the whole thing again (modern, functional writing! horizontal lines! the omnipresent keyboard!).