Davíd Garza

Dream Delay (Cosmica Records)

By Kim Newman
Published: July 23rd, 2009 | 12:23am

Davíd Garza announces “Unplug the DJ, DG is here to play” in the hip-shaking “Be My On & On” on his latest, Dream Delay. Indeed, the Austin-based artist who creates an unconventional amalgamation of electronic, roots, and Tejana-tinged rock is in top form – which is why it remains a mystery that the seriously talented musician remains even more seriously undervalued.

Best known for the late ‘90’s album, This Euphoria (Atlantic), and the swoon-inducing love song “Slave,” Garza is a skilled and classically-trained guitarist, not to mention a seductive romantic who writes passionate pop hooks. Check Dream Delay’s just like “Dead French Dudes” – a lyrically creative "guy thinks he’s a loser and is too shy to speak to the lady he likes" song in which Garza vulnerably laments his lack of cool in a mix of Franglish and Spanish (“j’ne pas parles paris y tu na hablas tejanese ay que shame”). Or try “Two Sinners in the Garden,” a straightforward love song where he sings about his lover’s touch setting him right that is complete with post-punk rhythms.

Garza is an eccentric musical genius fascinated by electronic underpinnings which might explain the ready for the club beats of “Love Back” and “Minority Boys Got Cash,” a tangled and bouncy electronic track that features Ministry’s Al Jourgensen on vocals; the track sounds as if Animal Collective had simultaneously gone pop and goth. There’s even an experiment with rap via a hurried spoken-word intro on “Just the Bass,” which shows just how right Garza is: a disc like Dream Delay makes the DJ unnecessary.

—