Sound Club featured album: II by Desire

Desire II This is a cross-post from my Sound Club music club, where I regularly share an album for listening and discussion. Check out the club here. Amidst all the bigger shifts in 00s alternative and electronic music — nu rave, the resurgence of post punk, electroclash, Ed Banger and the impact of French touch — there was something much subtler happening a little further behind the scenes. Based out of Portland and West Hollywood, a record label called Italians Do It Better was quietly cultivating a kind of cinematic deadpan electro. With a style that referenced Italo Disco, listening to the early releases from the label gives a little glimpse into what became the future. The sound has a dose of Electroclash (more on that another time), but with the edges sanded off. In their place are glossy surfaces, albeit with nothing to reflect but black and chrome. The resulting sounds ended up manifesting in many movies, Drive, for one, but the label also both channeled, and influenced, David…