Pretty Good Dance Moves is an

indietronica Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band from Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Their style is also labeled as electropop. It is influenced by 1980s new wave,

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

, pop and

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

genres.

Career

Genesis of the Group

Pretty Good Dance Moves started in 2007 in Chicago after Aaron Allieta and Jimmy Giannopoulos met while bartending together in Chicago. Their parents are of Italian and Greek-Cyprian descent respectively. Pretty Good Dance Moves' first songs were "P.G.D.M" and "Demons Dancing" which were recorded between June and September 2007. Jimmy and Aaron contacted Genevieve Schatz from the Chicago band Company of Thieves. The three started to create music together. Genevieve's vocal performances are featured on the earliest songs Pretty Good Dance Moves produced, which were written and recorded between January and May 2007. Collaborations would remain an integral part of the group's creative process.

Early acclaim

Pretty Good Dance Moves self-released, self-titled EP struck a chord with the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

music critic and former

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

editor,

Jim DeRogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of '' Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', '' Guitar World'' and ''Modern Drummer'', and for ...

. After a favorable review in the

, the band got noticed by Chicago music goers and music journalists from publications like SPIN,

Time Out Magazine ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

, the

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

and influential

music blogs Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

. Pretty Good Dance Moves went on to win Famecast's award for best electronic video, which included $10,000 in award money and features in

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...

. In 2011, Pretty Good Dance Moves signed to Mad Dragon Records to release their first full-length album entitled "Limo". The LP, consisting of 8 songs, was released on February 7, 2012 and featured vocals from Sabina Sciubba of

Brazilian Girls Brazilian Girls is a band from New York, United States, known for their eclectic blend of electronic dance music with musical styles as diverse as tango, chanson, house, reggae and lounge (but no Brazilian rhythms at all). None of the member ...

Style

The music magazine

Spin magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. Histor ...

has compared their earliest songs to indietronic band The Postal Service. Pretty Good Dance Moves EP has also been compared to James Murphy's house music project LCD Soundsystem, UK downtempo group Zero 7 and the Brazilian Girls.

Collaborations

Pretty Good Dance Moves has collaborated with Genevieve Schatz from Chicago band Company of Thieves, American comedian

Kristen Schaal Kristen Joy Schaal (; born January 24, 1978) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She is best known for her voice roles as Louise Belcher on ''Bob's Burgers'' and Mabel Pines on ''Gravity Falls''. She's also known for playing Mel on '' ...

, famously known from HBO series

Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's come ...

in the making of the music video for the song "Demons Dancing" and

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

runner up Shandy Sullivan in the making of the music video for "In the Heat of the Night". The band is currently working on collaborations with members of Chicago indie rock group The Changes and Chicago electronic rock band Walter Meego.

References

External links

Pretty Good Dance Moves official website

Video of a live performance by Pretty Good Dance Moves with G. Schatz recorded for KEXP90.3FM
{{Authority control Electronic music groups from Illinois Indie rock musical groups from Illinois Musical groups from Chicago