Made up of four one-time members of the Antipodean psych scene, Melbourne outfit Confidence Man have cast off the ambling melodies and noodly jams in favour of sugary, crisp and slightly gawky dance-pop. The thing that first wallops you over the head about their wacky debut is frontwoman Janet Planet’s chatty, bratty vocal, which covers topics ranging from the lameness of her boyfriend to how quickly other men fall in love with her.
There are shades of Moon Unit Zappa’s Valley Girl in Planet’s persona, especially on the deadpan COOL Party, but the overwhelming impression is of a retro-futurist superbitch: cold, conceited and very camp. The intention may be arch but it’s still not hugely edifying stuff, and perhaps Confidence Man would feel a bit old hat were it not for the music accompanying this cartoonish character – a profoundly uplifting patchwork of dance music’s most gleeful moments. With its warm breeze synth lines and space-age sound effects, opener Try Your Luck nods to Arthur Russell’s transcendent disco group Loose Joints, while on Better Sit Down Boy the band mine turn-of-the-millennium maximalist fun, resembling a grottier version of Basement Jaxx. Elsewhere, co-vocalist Sugar Bones scales Right Said Fred levels of bass, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of excellent basslines rub up against the euphoria-stoking flavours of trip-hop, Madchester and other chart-friendly strains of early 90s electronica. They certainly aren’t subtle, but Confidence Man’s broad brush strokes belie a sophisticated and skilful distillation of dance-pop joy.
