i don’t know how but they found me - razzmatazz

By Audrey Herrin

Last October, a duo known by the lengthy moniker I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME (IDKHOW) released their first full-length album. The duo, comprised of ex-Falling in Reverse drummer Ryan Seaman and ex-Panic! At the Disco member Dallon Weekes, came together in 2016 and found their own indie pop, pop rock sound with an 80’s aesthetic. IDKHOW embraces its older influences, using sound effects, distortion, and interludes to create an atmosphere for its music and a matching aesthetic for the band a’ la Sgt. Pepper. 

Their first album is titled Razzmatazz, which is a campy word used to describe things that are flashy and showy, designed to dazzle and impress an audience. This word perfectly encapsulates the tone and themes of this quirky and entertaining album, which deserves all the recognition it has received this last year and more.

The bitter opening line to the album, from the hit track “Leave Me Alone”, directly addresses an unknown person: “Big shot, so what? You wanna pretend? / You took the money but the money couldn’t buy a friend”, the narrator accuses them. The theme of the corruption and greed of show business is immediately introduced in this entertaining track, and it is easy to believe that the members are writing from their personal experiences with other people in the entertainment business. 

Throughout the album, dark, often accusatory lyrics are sung over an upbeat, glamorous sound, creating a sound that drips irony and satire. It calls out the hollowness of celebrity artists who are more driven by fame and money than by inspiration, and it is simultaneously aware that by putting out an album and hoping people will listen to it, the artists behind the album are preyed on by this same desire for fame and approval. On the opening track the vocalist cheerfully describes the individual as “mad as a hatter with a dagger and a dollar sign”, continuing the theme of the materialistically ambitious and greedy side of the industry. 

“Mad IQs” and “Sugar Pills” are catchy and danceable songs (if not the most memorable) that expand on this theme. “You can bend or you can break / but they’ll replace you with machines”, the lyrics claim on “Mad IQs”, hinting at the futility of achieving fame in the music industry when pop music is mass-produced and consumerized to appeal to a mass audience. The lyrics of “Sugar Pills” use the placebo effect as a metaphor for mindless consumption in a futile effort to achieve fulfillment. Both songs explore different aspects of the insincerity of show business and fame.

The third song on the album sounds somewhat out of place, which could be due to the fact that the song, titled “Nobody Likes the Opening Band”, was released years before the album (alongside a highly amusing music video which is definitely worth watching). This is a stripped-down, broadway-inspired song in which Weekes’ theatrical vocals shine. His vocals, while possibly an acquired taste, are unquestionably impressive and convey the album’s ironically overblown and flashy tone well. “Take pity on the opening bands”, the lyrics advise, “‘cause no one came to see them / except their mom and dad”. Besides being humorous and silly, the lyrics convey the desperation for recognition in show business, portraying a band that lacks recognition as very pathetic.  

“Lights Go Down” contributes further to the main themes, with fascinating and complex lyrics hiding behind an unassuming sound. The song’s vaudeville-inspired vibe, similar to early Panic! At the Disco combines with Weekes’ theatrical vocals and a jazzy saxophone solo to convey all the glitzy glamor of showbiz. The lyrics seem to be a dialogue between two speakers. The first seems disgusted by the flashy facade displayed by the second. “Parade through the ballrooms / decay in your costumes and dance / until the lights go down”, he sings, likely referencing Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. This reference combined with the chorus of “until the lights go down” hints that in this case there is something dark and insidious concealed behind the razzle-dazzle of fame and performance that cannot stay hidden forever.

Two slower songs, “Kiss Goodnight” and “From the Gallows”, are unconventional love songs that somewhat depart from the themes of the album, if not from the tone. The sound of both is heavily inspired by 1930s vocal jazz group The Ink Spots, which creates a dreamy, nostalgic vibe. “From the Gallows” even includes a spoken dialogue mid-song in the same style, although the robotic voice modulation makes it humorous rather than sentimental. The lyrics of this song are blunt and morbid, with the singer declaring that he would gladly kill himself and “swing from the gallows and wave” if it would make the object of his affections smile. The lyrics combined with the sound let us know that we are not meant to take the unhinged narrator seriously or sympathize with him.

The titular closing track, “Razzmatazz”, sums up the album’s recurring themes. The piano and backing vocals recall the flashy vibe of a show tune, which returns to that self-aware irony that the artists are putting on a show for their audience. “Some things just cannot be fixed / with sparkled tongues and politics “, the lyrics state on this track. This summarizes the general sentiment of the album: a deep, abiding disgust for all things flashy and deceptively glamorous that are feigned for the purpose of fame and greed. Or in other words, for “that good old-fashioned razzmatazz”. The sweet-sounding saxophone returns on this track before and after the final chorus, and fades out along with the album.