Don Juan Dracula
Perfect Girl EP
Switch Off Records/Tuba!

Don Juan Dracula (oh yeah?) is a quartet from the farmside southwest of Oslo tickling around the landscapes of mid-80s synth pop. They call it naive, eccentric pop, and it has got sort of a kitchy appeal. Cheap (?) synths, drum machines, home recorded onto 8-tracks and all that, yes, but first and foremost catchy melodies.

I saw them (briefly) last year at Musikkens dag (Day of music), performing at Oslo's City Hall Square, and thought it was a rather awkward bunch. Over the last few weeks they've gained a lot of radio airplay with some of the songs off this debut EP, which starts with the ultra poppy title track. With its humoristic despair it's a charming song, about meeting and going home with, well, yes, the perfectly pretty girl (lyrics: "..Cindy Crawford couldn't stand a chance!"). Mexico is a bit more tristessa pop, but it's also a nice little pop song, making DJD a promising act. I don't find Jetlag and Dancing Queen to be as spiffing, and the final track is a remix of Mexico (elektromonika mix). Well, the first two songs make it interesting to see what'll come next.

Distribution in Norway: Tuba!

Copyright © 2002 Håvard Oppøyen