photo credit: chicagosnacks.org

The title of Coltrane Motion’s sophomore album, Hello Ambition!, is probably about as accurate a name as could have been conceived for this collection of 10 tracks from electro-pop duo Michael Bond and Matt Dennewitz. Combining droning, repetitious sounds with eclectic rock and vocals isn’t easy — nor common, mind you — but the Chicago boys seem to mash them together with considerable ease.

The beats on Hello Ambition! are simply infectious. It’s damn near impossible to sit through the album’s musical stylings without bobbing your head and wiggling your toes. That is, of course, if you haven’t already gotten up out of your chair and started waving around other appendages.

Michael and Matt rely heavily on their drum kit and unyielding beats to keep things moving and in focus. This is particularly true of a track like “High Tide,” which takes off a bit noisier and more scattered than the rest, yet maintains its ground thanks to consistent drum throbbings.

Most everything on Hello Ambition! could find a home on the film soundtrack of a snappy, coming-of-age indie. “My Heart Might Go On,” for instance, has a coarseness about it thanks to a hint of lo-fi, yet is softened by a playful tambourine and repetitive lyrics. Michael, the duo’s vocalist, claims that “the party is over” and that he’s “tired of being young” — the unofficial calling card of desirous, albeit distressed youth.

“I Forgot There Was a War On” may be the album’s anthem. It’s Coltrane Motion’s stab at mixing dance rock with funk, and it goes down very smoothly. Like most everything here, it’s hard to listen to just once.

Before Hello Ambition!, which Coltrane Motion released earlier this month on its own label, datawaslost, the duo debuted with its first full-length album, Songs About Music, in 2007. According to the boys, they aim to “make a dance record that sounds like what we dance to: girl groups and big beat and fuzzed-out indiepop.”

Hello Ambition! (2010)
(mp3) Coltrane Motion – I Forgot There Was a War On
(mp3) Coltrane Motion – Please Call it a Comeback

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