Maximum Balloon

Maximum Balloon (DGC/Interscope)

By Emily Becker
Published: September 25th, 2010 | 7:00am

Although TV on the Radio brought Dave Sitek to prominence, he’s also an established producer who has worked with acts including Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Holly Miranda. On his newest project, Sitek enlisted the talents of some of his favorite vocalists to breathe life into song ideas that never fit anywhere else. The project’s title, Maximum Balloon, alludes to the songs, that each is a self-contained entity, which Sitek has bundled together on this self-titled release.

His allusion fits, but it also leads to an identity crisis. After listening to the record from start to finish, it’s hard not to think that if the songs are orphans, then Maximum Balloon sounds like a musical orphanage. The best cuts unite the talents of Sitek and his collaborator into a hybrid that offers listeners a glimpse of something new. “Tiger,” the first single, for example, is a riff-laced experimental dance track which features Aku from Dragons of Zynth. This song has legs and stands out as the best track on the record. “Groove Me,” which features Theophilus London, is an ice cream sundae of a song, smooth and sticky with all manner of ‘80s-inspired keyboards. Karen O doesn’t disappoint on “Communion” as she chants, “Gimme that beat / Show your love / Out of your seat.”

Maximum Balloon isn’t a traditional record. Sitek was more interested in creating audio snapshots that function as souvenirs, so questions such as “How well do all of the tracks hang together?” may not be appropriate, yet it’s no less frustrating when many of the songs don’t work or seem incomplete. “If You Return” features Little Dragon’s Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano and Sitek’s signature guitar isn’t enough to rescue the song’s silly melody, and the Ambrosia Parsley-featured “Pink Brinks” stagnates around her throaty vocals. The collaborative energy just never gelled on these tracks, and as a result, they feel mutant, like a three-eyed fish, or a cat that’s been genetically engineered to bark.

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Maximum Balloon official Web site

Maximum Balloon MySpace page

DGC Records

Interscope Records