Every musician should have the sentence "Less Is More" tattooed on a part of their body often visible to their eyes – because unless you aspire to be the new Frank Zappa or Trent Reznor, you want your music to breathe. It’s a concept that Brooklyn synth-pop duo Kodacrome knows well and practices flawlessly, both from a musical and visual standpoint. New single "The City is Burning" is a beautiful exercise in restraint, that somehow manages to "straighten" a complex 5/4 tempo. Every element in the arrangement is measured and essential: the minimalistic electric piano melody; the slightly vocoded drone of the simple melody; the sober rhythm pattern. The stunning video matches the song’s ascetic atmosphere by showing – in religious black and white – the miracle of water in all its glory, while semi-intelligible lyrics seem to stress the vulnerability of the human condition: "frozen summer/golden handcuffs/you are such a mess." Give this song/video some time, and you’ll be touched.
