My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult – Gay, Black, and Married

Been There, Done That, and Heard It All Before

It’s unfortunate that dance music seems to suffer the general criticisms of sounding redundant, being clich&#233-ridden and cookie-cutter, and not having too long of a chart life. Then albums like Gay, Black and Married by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult come along and prove the general criticisms right. Sure, there is intelligent dance music out there such as New Order and Basement Jaxx but this isn’t it. It’s something for a DJ to spin at a big city club. It all begins with a cover of “Do You Wanna Get Funky with Me” and its rather inviting Fela Kuti-esque beat, simple synthesizers, and vocoder-heavy lyrics. This gives the listener a deceiving vibe that this could be a rather dark, fun, and sexually charged album from a group that couldn’t be more familiar with the territory. Then “Euro-Freak Hustle” begins with its extended synth segments to keep the club patrons dancing. The listener might as well pull out the clich&#233 checklist because this pattern will continue for the rest of the album. “Magic Boy, Magic Girl”, with lyrics like, “You know you want it/You wanna touch it/You wanna taste it/You wanna take it,” could be a dance club smash not only for its innuendo, but its uncanny ability to give patrons something simple to sing while they grind. It’s an uncomplimentary standout.

Gay, Black, and Married is an album that is too much like anything heard from other dance artists. Its clich&#233s, sexual innuendo, and looping synthesizers over thumping beats will get people dancing like it has many times before. But again, the general criticisms have been proven correct: It’s all the same.