Album Review: Todd Terje – ‘It’s Album Time’

Album Review: Todd Terje – ‘It’s Album Time’

“It’s Album Time”, Todd Terje says. “Finally!”,  you could reply. It’s taken the Norwegian nu-disco DJ 10 years to release his debut album. In 2004, he released his single ‘Eurodans’ which has since become something of a classic, and was sampled extensively on Robbie William’s hit ‘Candy’ two years ago. His ‘It’s The Arps EP’ in 2012 also proved successful, with ‘Inspector Norse’ receiving accolades from all over the world.

‘It’s Album Time’ is not entirely new then, as four of its 12 tracks (‘Strandbar’, ‘Swing Star (Parts 1 & 2), and ‘Inspector Norse’) had all been released prior to the album. And Terje has admitted to feeling ashamed at not releasing an entirely new album, but he really shouldn’t, because for the most part ‘It’s Album Time’ proves a rewarding listen.

What probably sets him apart from other DJs is that he is actually a very fine songwriter and plays around with real live instruments, which somehow recalls Daft Punk’s desire to bring back ‘feeling’ into electronic music with their latest album ‘Random Access Memories’. And Terje does just that with his debut album. The Jazz-Funk of ‘Alfonso Muskedunder’ is especially exhilarating, as is ‘Delorean Dynamite’ with its ‘Thriller’-style synths.

The samba bursting of ‘Svensk Sås’ is a bit of an oddball in the record, but then it’s also an album that covers many different genres, from Funk and 80s Disco to Synthpop and Bossa Nova. Somehow though, the record still feels surprisingly consistent.
A very spacey, slowed-down version of Robert Palmer’s ‘Johnny and Mary’ features Bryan Ferry on vocals and it is one of the most enjoyable and mesmerising songs on the album.

‘It’s Album Time’ isn’t perfect, and it does meander a bit at times, most notably on the ‘Swing Star’ suite, but mostly it is a very well executed record that will please both nu-disco fans and newcomers to the genre.

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