Review: Razzmatazz by I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

In a word: Razzmatazz.

Fearless/Concord

4/5

The debut record from Salt Lake City’s self-described “hipster nonsense” duo I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME lives up to its title and injects some moxie, vim, and, yes, razzmatazz into the tail end of the 2020 music scene. Personally, I’d describe them as an electronica-rock duo in the tradition of MGMT or even LCD Soundsystem at times, with the genuine talent and ear for interesting sonic tricks that comes with the territory. Right in the sweet spot of 12 songs over 33 minutes, Razzmatazz bounds into your ears, wrecks the living room of your auditory cortex, and politely leaves without overstaying its welcome; such is a delicate balance that many debut albums, and established acts, for that matter, seem unable to pull off. 

Vaguely lo-fi, head-bopping instrumentation and unexpected effects (like the Hawkings-singing-Ink-Spots vox in “From the Gallows”), the wavering opening notes on “Clusterhug,”the minimalism and killer bassline on “Lights Go Down,” and even the fuzzed-out vocalizations on “New Invention” (plus the shushes over dead silence in the same track, which I’m a total sucker for) make this album a real stand-out in a genre over-encumbered by too many generic-sounding synth beats under whiny lead vocals. Further separating them from the pack is the decades-spanning library of influences the duo draw from, most prevalently from the glam rock pomp of the ‘70s and the new wave precision of the early 80s.

Now, lyrically, it’s nothing to write home about. When strongly written bombast gives way to more slow-paced,  loungy sensibilities, as in the unfortunately Twenty One Pilots-y “Nobody Likes the Opening Band,” my attention wavered and I found myself watching the countdown until the next track played. Luckily, such diversions are short and you’re quickly thrown back into the sonic deluge with not a heavily-gelled hair out of place.

Key Tracks: Leave Me Alone, From the Gallows, Razzmatazz