The second album from Pee Thug and Dave 1, the Arab/Jew combo that make up the electrofunk duo Chromeo, is as delightfully nostalgic and funky as its 2004 predecessor “She’s in Control,” with perhaps a more sincere sound to boot.
“Fancy Footwork” carries on Chromeo’s ode to bubbly eighties pop, with Miami Vice sheen, funky synth and vocoder ballads. The album opens with a playful intro that segues into the dance worthy “Tenderoni,” followed by the title track, which has a finger-snapping, deliciously upbeat groove coated in sleek yet laid back vocals. “Momma’s Boy” is a fantastically kitsch piano ditty circa 1983 that inevitably leaves you humming.
“Bonafied Lovin” (Tough Guys)” and “100%” are the kickers of this album, the former a sleek, sleazy guitar-synth opus and the latter a perfect retro ballad with a great saxophone solo intertwined with warm synth wails.
Rich synthesizers and disco pop beats punctuate hilarious lyrics; "For sure if I tell you how to do my dance, baby then you'll let me get in those pants" croons Dave 1, who teaches undergraduate French classes at Columbia University.
While “Fancy Footwork” doesn’t have in-your-face singles like the group’s earlier “Needy Girl,” it is as a whole better produced, more serious, and more coherent than Chromeo’s debut album. The silly yet earnest duo have a nerdy, whirlwind romance with eighties tunes, and their enthusiasm makes the disappointingly short record come off as entirely listenable and fresher than the overly ironic efforts of their indie peers. (Vice Records)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 12, 2007. Read the original PDF.