Search - Hadouken! :: For the Masses

A really, really fun listen.

T. Garth Simmons | 02/16/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I just found out about Hadouken! about a month before this album dropped, and so I have no comparisons or insights into how they've evolved from their previous album, since I've only heard a few songs.



That being said, "For the Masses" is a really fun, energetic electro-rock album. It builds up nicely track-by-track, maintaining momentum and then slowing things down a bit in the middle, then building back up again. My only real complaint is the final track, "Lost," which uses the auto-tuned voice effect in one of the most annoying ways possible. (Had it been done with a sense of humor and became more of a parody of the auto-tune phenom, I may have given it more credit). But these days, an album that has nine songs I like and can listen to, and one that I loathe, well, that's better than most.



The opening track "Rebirth' is a great build-up opener. It takes almost two minutes to finally get into the track itself, but when it does it lets you know exactly what the album has in store. (5/5)



The second track, the most rock oriented track on the album, "Turn the Lights Out," is sure to be a favorite. It's fun, it's got great hooks and a catchy chorus, and the energy is almost palpable. What's not to like? This is the song I can see my friends and I listening to on some road trip mix blasting out of the car, all of us singing along. (5/5)



"M.A.D." takes things into the bass-heavy electro-rock-grime area that most of the rest of the album stays in, but underneath the aggressive beats there's a sense of humor, and that may be what I love most about Hadouken! As serious as they may sound, it's all in fun. (5/5)



"Evil" is pure electronic bass madness. This is the first of the "club-songs." Songs that I can see being played night after night in a club with people rocking and dancing to it. Not one of my favorite songs on the album, but not bad at all either. It's just exactly what it is; no more, no less. (4/5)



"House Is Falling" is where the album takes a turn toward something different. The previous four tracks maintain the momentum I was talking about, this one slows it down. But it's still got catchy hooks, and a catchy beat, and it still builds up just right. However, the cleanly sung vocals tend to put it more in line with Julien-K than with The Prodigy. (5/5)



"Mic Check" is one of the few tracks I think is disposable. It's still fun and catchy, but sounds too much like something I've heard a million times before to really get into it. Most albums have "filler" tracks, this is one of those tracks. (3/5)



"Ugly" is the first of two The Prodigy sounding tracks (like something off of "Music for the Jilted Generation"). While I definitely think Hadouken! has their own sound and isn't ripping anyone in particular off completely, I also believe they wear their influences on their sleeve, especially on these next two tracks. But it's still quite enjoyable. (4/5)



"Bombshock" is the other Prodigy-ish song, (more like "Fat of the Land" era), and one of the highlights of the album, just because the music is so addictive. By this point in the album, you're caught up in it, and so "Bombshock" just lives and breathes what these guys are about so much that it's hard not to let it take you away on it's beat. (5/5)



"Play the Night" is an odd song. The musical influences are all over the place and so it's hard to nail down just one piece and examine it, and the lyrics are sort of goofy, but it's still fun to listen to. This song just doesn't have as much going for it as any of the previous tracks (with the exception of "Mic Check"). (3/5)



And then we have "Lost," the auto-tune nightmare. Musically, I love the track. But as soon as the vocals kick in it just grates on my nerves. I don't understand the fascination with sounding like a runover robot chipmunk, especially since on "House Is Falling" you can hear his singing voice, and it's good. Anyway, a terrible letdown of an ending to this album, in my opinion. (1/5)



However, there's a bonus track available for download (I think through iTunes), called "Retaliate" that's an all instrumental track that makes a great closer. My advice is, go download that and when you set your playlist, just leave off "Lost" and replace it with "Retaliate" and then you've got yourself a pretty good album.



I like "For the Masses" because I like electronic music. If you don't, then this may not be for you. It's not necessarily as good as The Prodigy (which is the closest mainstream artist I can think of to compare them to), but evokes the same feeling when I listen to them. Critics (I've read the reviews) tend to get caught up on analyzing lyrics and whether the musical composition is going to change the world, and completely miss the point of why people listen to electronic music.



If you like beats, bass, having a good time and not caring what others think about it, partying 'till the sun comes up, and just like having fun while listening to your music, then I recommend you check this out."