Monday, September 20, 2010 NEEDS MORE SWEDES
So, the new Phoenix is kind of boring. Thankfully, we have Pacific!
Photo: www.musicpacific.com
Pacific! “Runway to Elsewhere” (from Reveries, 2008)
ecord labels are the ones to cull a writer’s words in sticker form and slap it on a sulafane-wrapped CD. But, if I may, cherry-pick allmusic’s Tim Sendra describing Pacific’s musical aesthetic and slap it in this paragraph: “There are a few other bands working this angle of ’70s craft meets ’80s bubble with a 2000s sheen (Phoenix and Tough Alliance come to mind), but Pacific! might just be the ones who perfected the formula.”
Indeed, it’s “Runway to Elsewhere,” the instrumental opener from Pacific’s debut LP, Reveries, that has stuck and glued itself into my auditory cortex. Starting off with a spacey synth hook we haven’t heard since Air took us on a Moon Safari, this track melds into a cowbell-tinged disco revival at the drop of a handclap. Without letting you get too comfortable, Pacific punts the beat and crawls into a 70s prog-rock guitar solo that builds into the outro. Many bands have tried, come up short and flat out sounded cheap attempting the sound of this Swedish duo, who has magically found the party-worthy medium between three decades of rock (ELO), pop (Beach Boys) and dance (Daft Punk). Simply stated, “We make straight pop with a twist of club in it,” as explained by Pacific! themselves in an interview with Anthem last year.
And yes, I know I’m over a year late to this. I have Pacific’s Moshi Moshi labelmate, Breakbot, to thank for introducing me after hearing his remix of “Runway to Elsewhere,” which follows the aforementioned handclaps with a slinky synth bass line straight to the club. 
Download “Runway to Elsewhere” (Breakbot Remix) (from the Hype Machine, 2008)
