Diamond Riggs

Leave it to the Disco Biscuits to put out a computer and Internet-themed sex song that’s somehow amazingly not laughable. “On Time” is undoubtedly catchy, but seriously, who else can reference “ctrl-alt-delete” and not only make it work, but make it a sexy rump shaker? Maybe Pharrell, but that’s about it. This preview EP of the forthcoming full-length, Planet Anthem, features three tracks off the album plus two remixes of “On Time” and a live version of “Mirrors” from Red Rocks.

“Loose Change” will worm its way into your brain and stay there, consider yourself warned. With a strummed guitar riff oddly reminiscent of The Cure, the only real gripe with the song could be the bordering lameness of some of the lyrics, ie: “Who needs sexy when you’re filthy rich, you sexy bitch.” The dark, dirty, slowed-down club banger vibe of the killer “Konkrete” also has some seemingly weird-for-the-sake-of-weird lyrics, but that’s the Disco Biscuits, and Jon Gutwillig’s almost spoken delivery fits the sound of the song so well that it ultimately doesn’t matter.

As for the “On Time” remixes, Eliot Lipp’s uber-chill take on the song is most definitely best suited for super latenight or very early morning listening. It doesn’t even come close to resembling the original until the samples of the lyrics come in over halfway through the track, a truly new piece of music loosely based on the original. Twisted Dee’s “On Time” extended club mix brings the high-octane untz in a big way, and bears much more resemblance to the original than Lipp’s reading.

The live “Mirrors” has a classic Disco Biscuits vibe, a just-sappy-enough love song with an almost orchestral sound and a soaring glitchy peak. This serves to remind the listener that even with the clean crispness of studio tracks the true heart and soul of the Disco Biscuits always has been, and always will be, their live show. While studio albums lay down the raw skeleton of their songs, it’s undoubtedly the live setting where the meat on those bones really begins to take shape, where good songs meet with improvisational risks to create moments of unexpected and unpredictable brilliance.