Dancing with Headphones

Twenty-four year old Brit Tom Vek was a fresh face in 2005, making heads nod and girls swoon with his boyish good looks and an album chock full of heavy grooves, smart, catchy lyrics, and electronic flourishes. We Have Sound is an extraordinary debut from an artist who understands the meaning of “less is more.” It’s a stripped-down excursion of dance music delivered with a DIY spirit.The album starts rather humbly with the organ-drenched track “C-C (You Set The Fire In Me).” However, things kick into gear with the post-punk disco anthem “I Ain’t Saying My Goodbyes.” 4/4 rhythms, spiky guitar riffs, and “dance or die” vocals make this song a primer for a new crop of disco punk. Another great track, “If You Want” is a slap bass dirge that has Vek proclaiming “If you want tears then we better start dying.” The lyrics are cyclical and in-your-face while the music is pure funk akin to 70s underground favorites ESG. Vek is loosest on the sprawling and simplistic “Nothing But Greenlights.” With its escapist themes, self-assured vocal style a la Mark E. Smith and instrumentation that would make Can proud, the track is a spacious, krautrock-inspired anthem.

Inspired by electronic pioneers Giorgio Moroder and Brian Eno, Tom Vek has the mind of a minimalist and the attitude of a punk. He knows how to deliver a great dance groove, and at the same time has a keen ear for detail. We Have Sound is a unique album that was born in the basement but will live and breathe on the dance-floor as well as your headphones.