By: Jamie Reysen

Producers Eliot Lipp and LEO 123 join forces to form Dark Party, an “electronic dance project.” Dark Party’s first full-length album proves that two musical minds are greater than one.
 
Light Years, released Nov. 2, is a fun yet thoughtful blend of electro-funk, vocal samples and heavy beats, with hints of hip-hop influence scattered throughout.

“Patrol Patrol,” Dark Party’s first single off Light Years, pays homage to hip-hop and funk with its catchy rhythm and a beats-driven hook. A police scanner sample brings an element of mischief to the track, setting the stage for the journey through Light Years.

The collaboration of Lipp and LEO 123 results in an album with great range. The element of Light Years that stands out most is the careful balance struck between dreamy songs and dance party tracks.

Spacey electro songs like “Easy” send the listener into another world through quirky synth melodies and steady drumbeats. “Easy” slows down at times, then switches its melody and rhythm altogether. It’s sure to ease listeners into a trance, and then suddenly pull them back into reality.

“Down” is similarly dreamy with its distinct drumbeat rhythm and layered electro sounds—layers that Dark Party carefully adds then strips away throughout the track. A repeated vocal sample completes the song.

Dark Party morphs choppy vocal samples into compositions that almost sound instrumental. Samples in “Tonight” seem to have set the groundwork for the track, as if the duo built the song around quick sound bytes.

Their dance tracks possess an intense emotional aspect. “Flats” and “Can’t Stop” are two of the best songs on the album, both of which are energized by Dark Party’s manipulation of samples. The duo plays with echoes and pitch, heightening the songs’ greatness through intense musical arrangements.

Some tracks, namely “Pilot” and “Fifth,” are spacey, yet fit for a dance party. These two tracks bring the album’s two main spheres of sound together.

Light Years ends with “Cab Weather,” a profound song that will send listeners back into daydream mode, only snapping out of it when “Light Years” ends.

Dark Party will tour the West Coast this December, making six tops throughout California, spending two nights in Nevada, and wrapping things up Dec. 12 in Tempe, AZ.