Penguin Prison: Lost in New York

I can sympathise with the Penguin Prison guys about being lost in New York, it’s a beautiful yet overwhelming city that you can easily find yourself losing track in. Lost In New York is said to explore “the vintage glam of NYC’s storied disco heyday, all the way through to the bohemian rhapsody of modern Brooklyn”.
‘Try to Lose’ and ‘Show Me the Way’ definitely harness that disco vibe, whether it’s that of the New York City times I’m not sure, but it’s upbeat enough for anyone to appreciate. The beats are relatively simple and aren’t overcomplicated with the variety of sound effects at our fingertips these days. Instead Christopher Glover’s vocals come to the forefront and you can appreciate the song for what it is.
My one qualm is that as ‘Never Gets Old’ follows on from the first two tracks it seems to be a bit of a re-hash of an already used sound. Though it’s made up for with the radio-worthy track ‘Calling Out’ that we’ve all heard on triple j.
With ‘Stop Moving’ so comes a little bit of the edgier ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ sound. Glover’s voice is darker and there’s even a guitar solo thrown in. Though as favourites go, ‘Laughing At the Floor’ is the front-runner for this album.
There’s certainly more of the old school disco rather than the Bohemian Rhapsody mentioned earlier, but that isn’t at all a bad thing, as the earlier genre is much more suited to Penguin Prison’s sound. Pick this one up if you like a boogie.
Out now via Create/Control Records
Reviewed by Amanda Sherring