Django Django – ‘Off Planet’ album review: a gloriously sunny collection of tracks
London-based Django Django have been making music for over a decade now, defying categorisation through their consistent foray into new sonic territories. Their newest record, Off Planet, consisting of four EPs, sees the band lean into their most experimental and eclectic impulses yet.
Off Planet is the perfect summer record, and with its release date coinciding with the British heatwave, there couldn’t be a better time for Django Django to share their collection of sun-drenched tracks. Each EP contains multiple featured artists, from Self Esteem to Stealing Sheep and Yuuko Sings. After a prolonged period of pandemic-induced social isolation, it’s refreshing to hear the band embrace such widespread collaboration, and their joy to be working with other musicians (even if some of the tracks were recorded remotely) is evidently clear.
In fact, Off Planet’s strongest moments are collaborations, such as ‘Complete Me’ (with Self Esteem) and ‘Galaxy Mood’ (featuring Toya Delazy). In these moments, the band create a communal, cheerful atmosphere, crafting the perfect soundtrack for hanging with friends in the sun or having an impromptu boogie after several pints in an overcrowded pub garden. The thumping synths of ‘Complete Me’ radiate optimism, working well with the lyrics, “Complete me/ Baby, that’s unlikely/ I complete me.” Taking influence from house, hip-hop and breakbeat music, it’s an undeniable highlight of the album.
Elsewhere, the deep-reaching beats and layered vocals on ‘Lunar Vibrations’ (joined by Isabelle Woodhouse) make for an interestingly muted and slightly contemplative number. Another standout moment is ‘Don’t Touch That Dial’ featuring Yuuko Sings, in which she sings in her native Japanese for most of the track. A pulsating rhythm backs her lyrics as a sound that appears to mimic the warped noise of a distant train adds a slight uncanniness to the otherwise danceable number.
Amongst the collaborations are several instrumental tracks, which act as an enjoyable break from the overload of songs that populate the album. These cuts are mainly laid-back, such as ‘The Oh Zone’, which contains delicate twinkles on top of a layer of bass. Elsewhere, ‘Dumdrum’, which features very brief vocals from the band, is much more intense, taking inspiration from the acid house genre with its tension-building ascending beat. It’s a floor filler, that’s for sure.
Other moments in which the band are left to their own devices, with vocals provided by the band’s singer and guitarist Vincent Neff, often fall short compared to the collaborative junctures. Tracks like ‘Wishbone’ and ‘A New Way Through’ tire quickly, sounding more like generic psychedelia-infused summer indie tunes rather than slices of bombastic slices of experimentation.
Off Planet is an ambitious album, one that sometimes extends itself a little too far. It might be easier to enjoy the sizeable album in its four parts, but that’s not to say it doesn’t have many incredible moments from each EP. Instead, if the band were to cut the album to a shorter length – because there’s undoubtedly enough stellar material to make one cohesive, albeit smaller, record – then they’d have one of the year’s most impressive projects thus far. There are many songs to love on Off Planet – you might just have to skip through a few tracks to find them all.
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