Fur Trade’s Steve Bays (lead singer for Hot Hot Heat) and Parker Bossley (The Gay Nineties) describe their style as an experimental form of “yacht rock” (i.e. the late-‘70s style of Steely Dan, Hall and Oats and Toto). While some argue that computerized music requires less traditional musical talent, Bays maintains the album is the product of a great deal of sculpting: “With electronic music, the mixing is just as important as the song writing.” Despite this engineering, the electronic sound is too busy while still managing to be boring. I appreciate the original “yacht rock” genre for nostalgic purposes but also for its genuineness; in contrast, many of Fur Trade’s offerings are overly distorted. The debut album’s best track is its first single, “Kids These Days,” with a catchy guitar riff and a beautiful one-shot video of a young girl dancing in the street.
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– Nancy Saunders