If you thought that American novelty bands fizzled out at the start of the decade when Crazy Town and Limp Bizkit bit the dust, then think again. Baby-oiled, six-pack showing rap-funk outfit Iglu & Hartly have dusted down the genre we all love to hate and given it a 2008 make-over. What’s different this time around? Well, for starters they’ve actually got decent tunes amid all the camp buffoonery.
The 80’s electro influence may infuriate some listeners, but to these ears, & Then Boom fills the sizable gap that the sultan of sleaze Har Mar Superstar left behind a few years ago. ‘In This City’ is pure pop gold, ‘Dayglo’ is its obvious follow-up and album closer ‘Jump Out Of Your Car’ is as cool as Miami Vice the first time around (not that I can actually remember the show, but you get the idea). Forget about what all the snobs will have you believe, Iglu & Hartly might be music aimed at frat boys having their first keg-party, but this writer would like to pose the question - what the hell is wrong with that exactly?
If music can make you sing along, move, or smile like a mental patient on day release then that can only be a good thing. Yeah, we all know in one year’s time Iglu & Hartly will be regarded as the music world’s answer to Stifler from American Pie, but for now we’re loving the antics from this bare-chested bunch. File under “guilty pleasure.”