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Techno Squirrels
Love Comes First

Rave Police Records

Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor

In two short years, Ryan Harlin and Lisa Eriksson have put together quite a package of music, presenting their smooth-as-velvet electro-pop sound with a series of singles that culminated in their debut album, Plastic Makes It Possible. Of those singles, Love Comes First was the latest, offering up Techno Squirrels' airy, ambient, and upbeat style with a series of equally upbeat and energetic remixes. Of course, as the single features six mixes of the same song, most of which are geared towards the club-friendly dance floor crowd, the listening experience wears thin rather quickly. The original song is worth noting for its restraint; it maintains a soft and melodic edge with layers of synth swells, piano arpeggios, and drumbeats that snap, crackle, and pop their way along as Eriksson's voice floats almost ghostlike with an easy-to-digest melody reminiscent of Björk. The remixes then delve into all the possible dance floor histrionics that Techno Squirrels were good enough to hint at yet avoid in their original version. The remix by Carmen Rizzo and Kris Thomas is rather typical with its house flavor and stuttering bass line, contributing little to the dynamics other than to make the song more danceable. The same could be said for the following mixes by DJ Denise and Nebulae, both of which are rather mundane dance tracks, although the latter features some nice ambient elements and some chilling vocoder accompaniments. The last two remixes are the more interesting, as James Bernard's Computer Controlled remix slows the pace slightly, emphasizing the song's melodies and complementing them with some squelching synth lines and some light electro breakbeats. John Afterglow's Sweetdevil remix glitches things up for the finale, chopping up the vocals and synths to provide texture to what would otherwise be another extended dance track. Love Comes First may not be the strongest single Techno Squirrels could have released to promote their full-length debut, but as an individual song, "Love Comes First" is sure to put a smile on listeners' faces.