Originally a member of several indie rock bands, San Franciscan David Speck found his musical niche within the 80s revival. Because of that, Part Time’s sound from the beginning has been on the complete end of the spectrum of modern pop/alternative music. Where other bands opt for gnashing guitar chords and earsplitting drums, Part Time operates within the lo-fi, mellow sphere – the 11 pm car ride home from the concert you just saw tonight, if you will. Joined by Davida Loca, the group has put out several more records, including “What Would You Say?” (2011) and “PDA” (2013), both from recording label Mexican Summer.
Part Time does a few things very well, including anything with a driving electronic drum beat, use of fun synth sounds (if you love Donkey Kong Country, you’ll love Higher Fantasy), and Davida Loca’s meandering Jim Kerr-ish vocals. Formulaic perhaps, but it gets the job done. The recommended tracks for this album are there because they do this combination particularly well; otherwise, it’s great music to stare at your computer at 3 am with (which is by no means a bad thing). This formula begins to fall apart when they add acoustic instruments or let Loca’s vocals wander too far; however, this album as a whole is quite enjoyable.
It’s great to see current artists filling the niche of not pop yet not electronic. One might think that any fool can walk into a studio and mix some 808 sounds together but they’d be wrong, and Part Time has achieved a lot in this genre to prove it.
Recommended If You Like: Eurythmics, Tears for Fears, Crepes, Simple Minds, The Police, Genesis, Carly Rae Jepsen, Walk the Moon,
Recommended Tracks: 1 (Before You Fall Apart), 2 (Hide), 8 (I Didn’t Know), 11 (Higher Fantasy)
Do Not Play: FCC Clean
Written by Sasha Arteaga on 11/09/2018