Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Trouble

For those of you that think i’m referencing a children’s book or animated film, I’m not. If you haven’t heard of Orlando Higginbottom‘s brain child/alter-ego Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (TEED) by now, it’s time to get him and his music into your life and fast! If you’re looking for someone that makes dance music cool and removes the cheese, you’ve well and truly found your man. After a few years of releasing a single here and an EP there, we finally have a definitive, full length debut album. Electro producer Higginbottom has claimed in interviews that he wanted to make an LP that will stand the test of time and actually have some shelf-life compared to other dance albums of the past. Surely that isn’t too much to ask?

In my opinion, I believe some tracks on Trouble certainly have this long-lasting quality, yet I still can’t help skipping through at least half of the songs. They run into one another too easily, making them difficult to differentiate and I often find myself referring back to iTunes mid-song to check out the title. However, TEED does stamp every song with his trade-mark sound making each track instantly recognisable as his own. Trying to list artists or bands that are similar to TEED is extremely hard.

Personal favourites, I’m afraid to say have to be those I’ve listened to before such as ‘Household Goods’, ‘Trouble’ and ‘Garden’. Surprisingly TEED hasn’t included perhaps his most famous song ‘Moonlight Hits The Mirrorball’ for some bizarre and unknown reason, much to my disappointment. Yet there are some new tracks that I’m very impressed by, such as his new single ‘Stronger’. It shows how TEED has progressed from a behind-the-scenes producer, shying away behind his laptops and decks, to a competent vocalist. The opening of the song is simply Higginbottom’s echoing vocals and in my opinion, this is a step in the right direction. More of this please!

Whether Orlando Higginbottom has made a dance record that will stand the test of time we will have to wait and see, but for now, it is a good record for the summer that I’m sure will be enjoyable for at least a couple of plays. If you get a chance to see TEED live I would highly recommend it – hearing the tracks from Trouble live will be a very enjoyable experience.

7/10