Fidgital

Few albums live up to the promises cast down in their liner notes but this album is exactly what it proclaims to be: electronica, jazz and pop. Fidgital is the pairing of producer Keith Gillard and lead vocalist Ryan Slemko, who have described Condo Life, the follow-up release to the group’s debut album Spyglass as a "concept album about cosmopolitan life in Vancouver.” Listening to Condo Life is an eclectic experience as the vocals have you envisioning Duran Duran jamming with George Michael mixed to electro-pop beats on the same tip as Fatboy Slim or Stereo MC’s. But while Condo Life has a sound that might ring familiar, it is at the end of it a fresh, pleasing to the ear release that further expands the genres of electro-pop into the realm of upbeat electro-jazz with a uniquely different down-tempo vibe. Anyone seeking refuge from the monotonous drone of pop music today should keep an ear out for the singles "Any Other Way,” "Brand New Wave” and "You Know Me Better than You Do.” While it may be presumptuous to say that Fidgital’s Condo Life is the "rebirth of electro-pop cool,” it sure does manage to bring a new sound to electronica, widening boundaries and exploring the narrow path paved by such groups as Jazzanova.