Canadian electronic duo MSTRKRFT’s recently released track, “Back in the USSA,” sounds straight out of a galaxy far, far away. If a pack of Stormtroopers and Luke Skywalker gangbanged the guys from MSTRKRFT while they were sleeping it might sound something like this song. Imagine a fun, head bobbing electronic dance beat mixed in with an epic battle on the Death Star complete with laser blasters and light sabers.
Now, I did come up with this idea while driving on the Ravenel Bridge over the Charleston harbor so that might have a little something to do with it. If you are unaware, the Ravenel Bridge is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere, and driving over it at night while being in the right frame of mind and listening to the right tunes feels almost like blasting off in the Enterprise into outer space. Yeah, I know that’s Star Trek but that’s how a friend of mine described it in the heat of the moment.
I like MSTRKRFT enough to be excited about new material, and I think this song promises much more than their previous album, Fist of God. They did a fantastic enough job remixing Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” to make me think that I like it more than the original, and their first album, The Looks, had a unique 80’s electronic flair to it.
I happened to catch them in concert this past October, and I must say that they did rain down on the place like the Hammer of Thor. I’m interested to see where they go from here, and I have a feeling, that like their previous two albums, this newest one will head into a different direction than its predecessor.
Regardless, I’ve got a new song to cruise to on Friday night before going out on the town. If nothing more or less, a dance party song to keep me intrigued for at least a couple of weeks.