Free and legal MP3 from Think About Life (exuberant deconstructed funk)

"Johanna" - Think About Life
     So this may be about the best thing I've heard all year. How sharp and sleek and funky; how multileveled and well-crafted and exuberant; what deeply gratifying fun.
     The basic groove alone is impressive, established at the outset by some brilliant horn charts, with their stuttery swing and that softly dissonant chord they settle on at the end of each phrase. But "Johanna" has so much more going for it than the basic groove, including an memorable melodic spine--the song just hangs on it so perfectly--and Martin Cesar's delightful, full-throated singing. When everything kind of caves in on itself momentarily, at 1:14, this isn't just a cute effect, it's spirited statement of purpose: this Montreal-based quartet can and will do anything they want with the sound they're creating. In an indirect way, Think About Life brings to mind Remain in Light-era Talking Heads--not because the sound is similar, but for this group's willingness and ability to simultaneously work with and deconstruct the funk. I have rarely heard a band manage to give off a kitchen-sink air of anything goes while at the same time writing and playing such tight, kick-ass music. This isn't just someone pushing a button to put this sound in here, then this sound here; as with Talking Heads before them, I get a strong sense of both brainy tinkering and physical exertion in the presence of this song. The crazy-awesome instrumental interlude at 2:26--30 seconds of time standing still right in the center of the groove--is not to be missed.
     "Johanna" is from the band's second album, Family, which was released in Canada in May and in the U.S. last month, on Alien8 Recordings. The MP3 was made available last week via Magnet.