Styrofoam – Bright Red Helmet

My familiarity with Styrofoam, as I suspect is the case with many people, started and ended with his collaboration with Ben Gibbard on the really quite beautiful Couches in Alleys. For some reason, I never explored any further, presumably thinking that Gibbard was the creative force behind the song, so the electronica based Styrofoam didn’t appeal. Jump forward four years and I receive a copy of Styrofoam’s newest EP, which I skeptically listen to. Some of it misses with me, but half of the songs grab me right away. Title track Bright Red Helmet is one of them, it’s lyrical cynicism betraying the real tone under the cheerful beats.