Album Review: Django Django - 'Off Planet'
Django Django deliver a thrilling space-odyssey with their fifth album ‘Off Planet’.
The lost era of lockdown albums is far from over. Charli XCX turned to her fans to create isolation party anthems on ‘how I’m feeling now’, Sleaford Mods used their anti-Tory fury to fuel their 11th album Spare Ribs and Taylor Swift donned her flannel shirts in the woods for ‘evermore’. Now its time to answer the question, how did Django Django spend their lockdown?
Enter Off Planet – a thrilling 21-song collection delivered in four chapters each representing different planets on the covers, with artwork sourced from over 50 sketches drawn by drummer and producer David Maclean. Dusting off the decks and returning to his DJ roots, Maclean began to make music with the help of singer/guitarist Vincent Neff who wrote lyrics to pair with his hip-hop and rave beats.
All-star collaborations leave carnage in the wing mirror, testing the water and pushing the band into new territory. A welcome cameo from Self Esteem sees her hysteric vocal inflections performing gymnastics through a bouncy house beat on ‘Complete Me’. A skilled penman of noughties radio-ready pop, Jack Penate works surprisingly well on ‘No Time’ a blissful garage-dance track filled with bass-organ grooves and drums.
Lest we forget Yuuko’s big moment, ‘Don’t Touch That Dial’. The Japanese rapper commands attention on the track, an unforgettable vocal spot that hooks on to the woozy instrumental with ease. The teamwork shown on record bleeds into their upcoming tour with special guests Bernado, Toya Delazey and Refound joining the party starting on 17th June including dates in Manchester, Bristol and London.
For all the guest spots across the record, the biggest highlights aren’t just those with collaborators attached. ‘Osaka’ is all-out acid jazz at its finest blending blaring horns with hip-hop while ‘The Oh Zone’ uses a gentle harp as its greatest weapon to cut through a broody sonic soundscape. Pushing to be experimental can seem like a chore for some artists but the results here are joyous.
The latest collection of tracks to round off their fourth and final chapter brings the entire set of songs into orbit. ‘Gazelle’ brings the funk with shimmering disco-rock, the biggest curveball on this planetary edition. Bernado guests on ‘Who You Know’, a sultry number that pinballs between sonic blips and guitar plucks.
A resounding sense of freedom soundtracks this new release, the London quartet appear unshackled from expectation and boundaries, leading them to create a bold statement that shows the extent of what they can achieve. Their fifth album ‘Off Planet’ offers a fascinating glimpse through their cosmic kaleidoscope bursting with wild ideas, genre crossovers and sheer ambition.
Words by Oliver Evans
