The Singles Jukebox

Can you spot the record producer in this picture?…

[Video][Myspace]
[6.50]

Martin Skidmore: What if prog had emerged out of funk rather than rock roots? Um, okay, we already had George Clinton… Anyway, this has a kind of R&Bish clapping beat at the back, some distant and tuneless vocals and lots of pulsing synth fannydangle. I find it very tedious.
[3]

Matt Cibula: Like Heidi Klum on a stationary bike.
[4]

Mallory O’Donnell: In the internet-bred world of bedroom producer kiddies with musical chemistry sets, Dam-Funk is a true alchemist. “Mirrors” plays with his newfound interest in vocals to great effect, updating Clinton’s psychedelic pixie voice for a make-out session with some light metaphysical fondling. Strange and weirdly inspiring.
[8]

John Seroff: At its best, Dam Funk’s 2009 album Toeachizown sounds quite a bit like a collection of Basement Jaxx remixes of Sign O The Times-era Prince outtakes. “Mirrors” qualifies as one of the best (and shortest) songs on that excellent double LP; the wiggly organ, marching band beat and Sir Nose D’Void of Funk vocals all signal a cerebral, spacy Parliament kind of high that makes me wanna ride. More’s the pity this kind of egoless disco funk can’t get mainstream MTV/BET/radio placement; I’d gratefully welcome Dam blowing, say, David Guetta off the charts and out of the water.
[9]

Michaelangelo Matos: Good on whoever decided this was a single, though that couldn’t have been hard: only one other song on Toeachizown is shorter. The tremolo synth and thick handclaps and fizzy bass are the focus, Damon’s slithering vocal a supporting element, but the music is so hooky it hardly matters.
[8]

Doug Robertson: There’s something delightfully sleazy about this 8-bit soundtrack to Gameboy porn. Sure, using the cartridge slot like that will probably invalidate the warranty, but after listening to this the prospect will never seem so enticing. [8]

Alfred Soto: Linn drums that evoke Prince’s “Pop Life,” stuttering synths, and a decently insinuating vocal almost worm your way into your brain, but speed is of the essence.
[5]

David Moore: For a song that seems constructed entirely of bits of tossed-off studio gimmickry — the silly “what does this knob do” vocals, the tacky synth-shore wash, the extraneous solo flourishes — it still manages to clomp and stumble its way into something memorable.
[7]