With tracks like Real Life, Brooklyn duo Eric Emm and Jesse Cohen showed they can create enigmatic grooves which bridge the pop and dance divide.
On their second album, the formula doesn't vary all that much from the template employed on their 2012 debut, Mixed Emotions. Emm has a voice right out of an 1980s pop video marathon, while the melodies and sounds are adroit, shapely and nimble.
The duo are at their best when they move out of their comfort zone and work out the kinks in tracks like Slipping Away (a throwback with Afropop trimmings) and Thinking (a pop nugget complete with intriguing muscle-flexing).
But for the most part, Tanlines don’t stray from the tried and trusted path, meaning much of the material sticks to the middle of the road rather than heading out for the edges to see what’s there.
