Reuniting Jerome Rocipon’s sing/speak vocals with Pierre Crube’s rough and ready synth-pop, Sport De Combat follows Numero#’s 2007 L’Ideologie des Stars with a more finessed force and funk. From the first anthemic punch of Tonton Klazonne, with only slight reprieve and surprise in the electro/indie ballade, Un Tiers, Deux Tier, Sport De Combat doesn’t deviate too far from its surefooted, at times, plodding boxer-style rhythms. Keeping to the album’s combative theme, Numero#’s straight-up, self-aware and slightly gritty electro-pop brand is lushed up with a lot of fuzzy bass and pads. It adds just the right amount of analogue weight, and combined with the simple and punchy four/four, it makes for a forceful and unique backdrop to Rocipon’s level tone and lyrical autodersion.
Saboteur Records – saboteurmusique.com – myspace.com/jaimenumero
by Romina Wendell first published in Exclaim Magazine