Dream pop is often more about "vibe" than songwriting, but Vancouver duo Doohickey Cubicle — the quirky new moniker of the similarly strange Booty EP — are unafraid to cut the mood with a joke or a perfectly out-of-place lyric. This is, after all, a band that put a winky emoticon in the title of Don't Fix Anything ;), their debut album.
Consider "Hotel Bed," a woozy keyboard ballad about missing a lover that name-checks "Nibs in the mini-fridge." Or the wobbly "Milano Sport," a detailed account of swimming in a public pool that comes complete with a spoken-word interlude about using a flutterboard in the slow lane. And then there's rhythm section, which has a curious tendency to cap off each dreamy tune with jazzy drum fills and showy bass licks.
In an album of cerebral songwriting and soft-focus melancholy — the Air-like electro-lounge grooves of "Sign Here" or the pillowy washes of standout single "Thinking" — these moments stick out, undercutting the dream-like mood with an unpredictable sense of fun. It's a multifaceted twist on a familiar style, so Doohickey Cubicle shouldn't fix anything ;)
(Independent)Consider "Hotel Bed," a woozy keyboard ballad about missing a lover that name-checks "Nibs in the mini-fridge." Or the wobbly "Milano Sport," a detailed account of swimming in a public pool that comes complete with a spoken-word interlude about using a flutterboard in the slow lane. And then there's rhythm section, which has a curious tendency to cap off each dreamy tune with jazzy drum fills and showy bass licks.
In an album of cerebral songwriting and soft-focus melancholy — the Air-like electro-lounge grooves of "Sign Here" or the pillowy washes of standout single "Thinking" — these moments stick out, undercutting the dream-like mood with an unpredictable sense of fun. It's a multifaceted twist on a familiar style, so Doohickey Cubicle shouldn't fix anything ;)