Album Review: Confidence Man - Confident Music For Confident People

So you don't like pop music now?

There was a time before the conveyor belt of singer-based reality TV shows when pop music was mostly written and performed by the singers and bands. It could be original, daring and thrilling. To that tradition, you can now add the divisive talents of Confidence Man. Too loose, too supposedly inauthentic for some, Confidence Man have, to date, proved ingeniously resourceful in their fight against conventionality. The singles lead the way, from the ecstatic whoops and irresistibly elastic bass line of Boyfriend (Repeat) to the turbo-charged Better Sit Down Boy; outlets for their oodles of untamed energy.

But the album reveals a few surprises, too: Sail Boat Vacation is a quixotic, dreamy instrumental while the likes of Fascination power along on cannoning Italo-house piano chords. The only obvious weak point is the recycling of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll-isms on Don't You Know I'm In A Band and C.O.O.L. Party - hackneyed tropes that the band rise above elsewhere. You may not like pop music, but there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't fall head over heels for Confident Music For Confident People.