Maximum Balloon

Maximum Balloon’s lead single “Tiger” is used in a video for an Esquire UK photo shoot with British beauty Daisy Lowe. Its beat is easy and the well-paced horn riffs and synth pulse keep the song propulsive. Whenever I hear it, I see Miss Lowe dancing. Marketing 101: sex sells.

Everything head Balloon Dave Sitek produces has an electric charge to it. Witness TV on the Radio’s unbroken string of engaging, one-of-a-kind albums and his production work with indie hits the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

“Groove Me” and “Absence of Light” exhibit Sitek's synth talent, providing just the right touch to enhance the guitar work, beats, and funked-up voices. Sitek's is a modern funk, with synth and guitar riffs providing the groove.

“Pink Bricks,” “The Lesson,” “Young Love,” “Communion,” and “If You Return” all feature female vocals, women Sitek has worked with before. Karen O's interpretation of “Communion” is the strongest side here — her emphatic voice like gravity to Sitek’s atmospheric pop.

• Album: Maximum Balloon (2010)
• Artist: Maximum Balloon
• Label: DGC Records
• Songs: (1) Groove Me (2) Young Love (3) Absence of Light (4) If You Return (5) Shakedown (6) Communion (7) Tiger (8) The Lesson (9) Apartment Wrestling (10) Pink Bricks