LALI PUNA
I Thought I Was Over That (Morr Music)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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The most accurate adjective I could come up with after listening to Lali Puna's album of rarities, remixes and B-sides, I Thought I Was Over That, is 'thick.' It's a 19-track double CD, filled with mid-tempo house and heavy dance beats that are perfect middle of the party music, apt for the time before the trance and after the real throng of dancers have left the floor.

Lali Puna is the German based brain child of L.B. Page and eventual collaborator, vocalist Valeria Trebeljahr. They formed in 1998 and have three full length albums and a series of singles to their credit in those seven years. Nothing really distinguishes those albums from the rest of electro-experimentation, save for some critical acclaim for Scary World Theory, an album that drew comparisons to luminaries Stereolab and Boards of Canada. What seems to give Lali Puna the most recognition - particularly Trebeljahr to Laetitia Sadier - is their similarity to Stereolab. The effect of I Thought I Was Over That won't be much to dispel that connection, but it is an effective, dynamic record in its own right.

Put it on about half way through the mix at your next party and you won't be disappointed.

© 2005 - Erick Mertz