Culture Culture

Synthpop purveyors Culture Culture were supposed to lead the year with the release of their new EP, JX-3Please, but instead the band dropped a new single late last night out of the blue. Not that we’re complaining, mind you, because “RGB” has a central groove that is as silky as it is effervescent. It may not have the brimming, bursting at the seams enthusiasm of the group’s last single, “Ashton Kutcher, Come Back,” but it does retain a similar ability to catch you unawares and lead you down mysterious rabbit holes.

Listening to each of the track’s layers build and stack upon one another, there’s a kind of architectural quality to the songwriting where each hook and melody becomes the underpinning for what happens next. If that sounds too formal and structured, worry not; the band leaves plenty of hidden rooms and secret passageways to explore. Culture Culture may share a natural love for ’80s retro-style pop, but their willingness to assume risks and take unexpected detours speaks equally to the adventurous spirit of ’70s prog rock.

At this early juncture, it’s tough to say exactly what these guys do best: create massively infectious hooks or submerge their songs in a labyrinthine maze of fascinating sonic digressions. The answer, of course, is both. There are a lot of bands out there mired deep in ’80s nostalgia, but few sound as inventive or as invigorating as Culture Culture. Listen below. - Immersive Atlanta

Atlanta’s premier synthpop group cultureculture offers their most expansive and satisfying work to date in their sophomore EP JX-3Please.

In JX-3Please, cultureculture allows more room for exploration. All of the tracks are near in length (or longer) than the longest track from their self-titled debut. The textures are airier and the overall experience is more spaced-out. As the band experiments in a galaxy of both nostalgic and future sound, they manage to keep their focus; they’ve merely refocused on the present, seizing each moment as it happens and letting the songs move how they please.

Opener “Got2F33L” may have a title that’s a music journalist’s nightmare, but it’s the dream come true of 80’s enthusiasts and champions of the 80’s wave-pop Renaissance. A slightly-misleading throwback sound byte leads the track, but it’s soon cast aside for a groovy synth hook. “Ashton Kutcher, Come Back” jolts the listener with a jumpy rhythm and puts them to ease with the smooth vocal stylings in the verses.

The EP’s centerpiece and standout track — “1138” — is an over-the-top ode to retro stylings, indulging in prominent bass riffs, guitar highlights, and all the drum fills you could want. Capping off the track is an enormous instrumental breakdown — a technique that appears in other tracks and is delightful every time.

“RGB” is a midtempo jam that takes a more restrained approach to dance-y beats. “Stranger” literally winds down the EP, closing the release with a bassline that slowly decreases in tempo, ending with a drone and disparate bass snaps. It’s a clever ending for a clever EP that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The EP’s only struggle is its density. While some of the tones aren’t as sharp as before, there are just a lot of tones stuffed into a small space. It would be hard to listen to a similarly structured full-length without multiple milder tracks like “Stranger” thrown in the mix. In keeping with the space analogies, JX-3Please plumbs a galaxy when it could have just stuck with a solar system.

All that being said, the latest from cultureculture is the dance party where all the cool kids are going. It’s nostalgic and exhausting, but it’s still invigorating and just a straight-up good time.

Check out cultureculture out the following links, and be sure to pick up JX-3Please when it drops tomorrow. - WE\ARE\MIRRORS

Last year, Atlanta’s Culture Culture got me with their single “Baby Blue” off their self titled debut EP, it was like some kind of a perfect easy listening 80’s style synth pop with the smoothest groove to dance along to. It always put me into a perfect mood. With a new EP planned for this month, the first single “Ashton Kutcher, Come Back” sounds every bit as infectious as the band continues to explore and experiment with synths in indie rock ‘n’ roll landscape. This is one EP to watch out for, it might just live in your head for the next few months. – MG - OpenEars Music

Atlanta-based synthpop group Culture Culture recently released the fucking gorgeous retro cut “RGB,” a slow-rolling disco number rightly controlled by a driving bass, a delicate array of oceanic guitars, and a panoply of hazy synth arpeggios.

With understated vocals that sound like Ernest Greene, “RGB” is in many ways Washed Out doing disco. All in all, Culture Culture is in all ways doing the right thing with this.

Here’s hoping this song is a harbinger of great things to come. - Vehlinggo

Sure, Culture Culture have only released a total of six tracks since early 2014, but the result has been an amalgam of intricate, memorable dance pop that could have easily been played in New York’s Studio 54 in it’s heyday. In late November 2015, the group put everyone on notice with the release of the stunning “Ashton Kutcher, Come Back,” the first single from their upcoming EP, JX-3Please, due out sometime in January. The track manages to draw influences from more recent works like Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, while also mixing in a healthy dose of ’80s synthpop in a brief 4:11 span. It’s a fantastic first effort, and — with any luck — a strong indicator of what’s to come. – Nicholas Ryan Taft - Immersive Atlanta

When Culture Culture dropped their debut EP in 2014, expectations were modest. The fledgling group was essentially a bedroom project and had given little thought to performing live, promotion or any of the other fundamental concerns of a working band. So when their record began to draw interest and the group started to gain some traction online, they were as surprised as anyone.

Emboldened by their limited success, Culture Culture expanded their lineup and began working on a follow-up release, one that would further draw upon their shared love for hook-heavy ’80s synthpop. The end result is the JX-3Please EP, a joyous, five-song firecracker of a record that the band plans to unveil in January. Today, however, we’re excited to share with you the record’s infectious lead single, “Ashton Kutcher, Come Back.”

For those of you unfamiliar with the group’s sound, this is about as splendid an introduction as one could ask for. The track is so damn effusive, it’s tempting to accept it at face value — just another retro-inspired synthpop jam, boisterous and fun, but hardly worth a deep dive. But that’s the thing with Culture Culture. The more you listen and pay attention, the more their songs unravel themselves into some sort of delightful puzzle to be solved, or better yet, some kind of magic labyrinth to be explored. Every playback reveals a new door to be knocked down, another passageway to wander through and investigate. It’s heady, immersive music posing as breezy dance pop, and I can’t listen to it enough. - Immersive Atlanta