As if the kind folks at DFA Records weren't already taunting us continually with their impeccable taste, they've gone and formed an offshoot label to further document that they hear everything, and before anyone else does. The new Death from Abroad monicker will grace a steady stream of twelve-inch singles by the gang's favorite non-North American dance acts. The imprint's initial slate of songs set for spotlight features geographically scattered "household names" like Mock n' Toof, Altz, and Gucci Soundsystem. A few releases down the line, salivating vinyl fetishists will be treated to this track, "Babylon by Car," by French duo Cosmo Vitelli and Julien Briffaz, only slightly better known as Bot'Ox.
The cross-country dash to Babylon gets off to a choppy start. A rigidly mechanical beat plus distracting peripheral scrapes and swishes create a palpable sense of frustration. As any urban getaway seeker knows, you've got to get out of the goddamn city first. The bumper-to-bumper gets increasingly ugly as the rough synth tones congeal into a nasty funk line, anger and anticipation for freedom meshing. Then, just short of three minutes in, the gridlock falls away and Vitelli's beautifully laid-back guitar strum signals open space at last. The strange abrasive tones pop up hear and there, but are mainly bypassed by the stabilized dance beat that dominates the subsequent run time. Well, except for a series of robot disco rest stops.