Teengirl Fantasy/ 7AM

Teengirl Fantasy
7am
(Merok / True Panther Sounds)

There’s a theory (for argument’s sake let’s call it ‘An Unrealistic Daydream Of Mine’) that Merok have a stock of Rolands, Moogs, and guitar pedals which all their artists use communally; that their revolution isn’t molded around hedonistic revivalism but rather Technological Authoritarianism.
Their record shifts from DIY electronics to a more ghostly, blurred sound that feels like Parisian House. It’s the latter variety, as demonstrated with ‘Make The Move’ and ‘Floor To Floor’, that provide the album’s finer moments.
As the LP shifts and distorts into soulful House, each track provides snapshots of the group striving for pop music in the same way strobe lighting captures revellers exploring the ecstasy of a sexually charged dancefloor moment. Yet the sexualised moments sound architected and derivative; the focus here isn’t so much on sculpted pop classics as it is on the sex itself (which is surprising when you consider The Big Pink to be their management).
For a record that strives for the ethereal, there’s a real abruptness to the tracks as if they were truncated souvenirs of dreamland. This results in modulations occurring all too frequently and all too significantly. The moment when their sprawling electronica becomes pop is the same moment that the group desert subtle oscillations for crude samples.