Ears Wide Open: Conquistador

Kevin Bronson on November 14th, 2013

0

Somewhere in the depths of the biographical material on Conquistador – beyond the details of his award-winning mustache and his red-carpet shenanigans at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards and cameo with Madness at Coachella – there’s a bit about Alexander Antebi’s affection for Todd Rundgren. Which makes two of us. It’s easy to imagine Antebi drawing inspiration from one of the 1970s’ foremost experimentalists to make the weirdo-glam-synth-pop on his first EP, “IIWII.” (Perhaps tangentially, the staggering genius of “A Wizard, A True Star” is now 40 years old, so any kids who think they’re inventing weird ought to take a step back.) Anyway, Antebi’s collaborator in Conquistador is Carlos ChÃ¡irez of Kinky, for whom the pair have co-written (Latin Grammy-nominated) songs. The title track is an acronym for “It Is What It Is,” what it is is a gently atmospheric electro-pop song that might induce a trance if it weren’t so simple and pretty. “NNTTT” is a cover of “No New Tale to Tell” that will either horrify or electrify Love & Rockets fans, and “I’m Alive” is an off-kilter disco stomp. Any more of this and they’ll be fitting me for some Lycra.

||| Stream: “IIWII” and “NNTTT”