What was I expecting from an album featuring the son of Jan “Miami Vice Theme Song” Hammer? What was I expecting from an album whose press release used the word “whimsical”? What was I expecting from a Brooklyn-based duo? Pretty much what I got with Our Nature. It’s a mishmash of quirky-girl/Michael Cera-guy electro-pop; the sound of any song being played in pretty much any room that Zooey Deschanel is in at any given time. The word “generic” springs to mind.
None of this is to imply that the record is terrible. It isn’t — I wouldn’t break up with a girl if she played it in my car one time. It just sounds like a lot of other bland pop; the kind of musical act that you’d find on Saturday Night Live. There’s nothing on the record that reaches out and grabs you and makes you say “fuck yeah!” There are times when Our Nature seems like it might just consider thinking about possibly maybe gathering some steam, like the track “Regalia,” or “Imagination.” These moments are fleeting and only really stand out the way a patch of beige would stand out from other beige because it was brighter. Fans of electro-pop might want to give this record a try before returning to M83’s Saturday = Youth and swearing to never be unfaithful again. (Nettwerk, savoireadore.com) Myke Lewis