Dragonette’s new style works in their favor

Dragonette stepped into the international pop scene with her witty, catchy and effusively happy collaboration with French DJ and producer, Martin Solveig. Before her smash hit, Dragonette put out two albums that concentrated on sexy, alluring vocals over a thumping beat and addictively dance-y melodies. Her soft voice juxtaposed with raunchy lyrics and electronic music produced a unique effect that was used on countless movies soundtracks and TV shows. 

Her latest album, self-produced, is a departure from her previous works and style. While I usually dislike dramatic departures from tried and true styles, I found myself liking her new style more than her previous albums. “Bodyparts” is the mellow but confident sister of her flirtatious and loud former albums. To begin with, her vocals are hardly seductive anymore. They instead take on a happier and more relaxed quality. Take the leading track of the album, for example. “Run, Run, Run” is a smooth, poppy jam, with vocals reminiscent of a mixture of Karen O and Marina and the Diamonds. 

While most of her tracks follow her established pop standard, several tracks display new styles and keep the album interesting and listenable. “Lay Low” for example, incorporates a definitive 80s synth pop vibe, which surprisingly does not sound cliché or overdone. Other tracks, like “Live In This City,” return to her aggressively and contagiously happy vocal style, but the lyrics of the song separate it from her former works. Instead of her lyrics mostly focusing on her late nights out partying and endless one night stands, she actually pays homage to the more emotional aspects of her personality. “Let It Go” addresses an old flame, saying “we don’t need a cure for the weight of the world cause its floating round in the universe just swing it like its tied to a string that you hold and just let it go.” Compared to her original single, “I Get Around” which proclaims “Quietly slide away off the mattress find my clothing on the bed post, so I tip toe out of this mess as I slip back into last night’s dress I get around.” There’s a drastic change in her song writing and the result is music that has a wider base to which to appeal. 

The result of her efforts, is a well thought out, surprisingly relatable, pop album. She incorporates lots of different quirks to each song, keeping the album interesting as a whole, keeping it cohesive and put together. Her signature style lingers in the background of the album, but the forefront is dominated by a more mellow and relaxed version of her former self.