Awesome New Republic "ANR So Far;" "All Party Talks" (Sutro)
By Abel Folgar
Thursday. Jan 19, 11:06 AM
Raucous rock and roll infused with... well... everything!

South Florida, if you boil it down, is chockfull of enough surrealist bizarr-o-ness that its inherent Felliniesque charms prove a bit much for outsiders. For instance: is Miami only Gloria Estefan and reggaeton? No! It is much more than that. It is jazz, hardcore, punk, metal, soul, funk, disco, electro, hip-hop – gadzooks! – it is everything. Now packaging all that into one successfully succinct and engaging whole takes a rare breed of animal to pull it off. One such animal is Awesome New Republic, and their one-two stylee is the full length ANR So Far and the 12" (vinyl only) four tracker All Party Talks.

Both released on Sutro (short for "subtropical"), they are a firm testament of the deliciously frenzied underbelly of the USA's southern tip. The 12" is solid funk with occasional horns and guitars accompanying the drums and synths of Brian Robertson and John Hancock as they romp through socially-conscious dance jams like "Go 2 Bed With North Korea" and "Parachute the Movie." This is the wax you pull out when the party's lulling out; this is when bras come undone and the sweat starts its slow drip down your back.

The full-length offers varied numbers like the thrash punk of "Kill South Beach Dead," the soulful balladry of "Going Down," and the dissonant space-age bachelor pad of "Dirge." And everything is laced with the masterful appliqués of their organic and digital know-how, giving about an hour's worth of musical bending/blending. But if there is one thing that rallies beyond the delicious compositions, it’s the vocal work this duo brings to the plate: I had no idea skinny ass White boys could belt it out like that!
www.awesomenewrepublic.com
www.sutromusic.com

Listen to a song from this album in our Radio section!

Click here to buy ANR So Far on iTunes!

Click here to buy All Party Talks on iTunes!

Click here to download the iTunes jukebox application for Macintosh or Windows!

Abel Folgar

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