A ray of multicolored light bursts through the sodden streets of a dilapidated cityscape in Jules de Balincourt’s painting "Blind Faith and Tunnel Vision." It's the album art for the Harlem Shakes' first LP, Technicolor Health, but also a rather apt metaphor for the music itself. Meet a bright band for some rather bleak times.
On "Nothing But Change," the album's opener, trumpets and handclaps practically cheer you along, with Benaim joyously proclaiming "One down and nine to go!" The Shakes would like to make you move and dance away your troubles, for sure -- but they're also for an informed kind of fun. "It's a lot of different levels at once. There's the superficial pop level, that was really important to us, just pleasant pop music. But we had deeper ambitions beyond that initial hook. It's complicated to make positivity that doesn't sound dumb."
Traversing a landscape of musical genres since forming in 2006, the Harlem Shakes' Lexy Benaim, Todd Goldstein, Ben Katz, Jose Soegaard and Kendrick Strauch are for a democracy of sound. Their new album is decidedly one of inclusion, where Latin-inspired beats can co-exist alongside '50s pop harmonies and vocals evocative of Randy Newman. "We're not purists at all," says Benaim, "We're influenced by '90s bands like Granddaddy and Blur and Corner Shop, very open to a bunch of influences... so just wonderfully impure."
The business of mixing inevitably has the potential to get a bit messy, but the Harlem Shakes still manage a keen sense of direction, keeping their palette full yet refined. This type of nuance is apparent on Technicolor Health, from the soft keys on track "Sunlight" to the prudent percussion of "TFO." Much of this consideration can be attributed to the actual process of recording it, where after signing to Gigantic Records, the band was given generous time in the studio. "We had a kind of Fleetwood-Mac-y experience and kind of just digging into it," says Benaim. "We became comfortable in there like it was our home." Even choosing the track list was a show of this restraint. "That was a very intangible intuitive process, choosing which ones matched the vibe were going for, it was hard." Benaim says. "And the number ten just seemed about right."
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