Search - Head Automatica :: Decadence

A Good Result From A Bad Idea

Brian Seiler | Tomball, TX USA | 09/20/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This record was not a good idea, from a marketing standpoint. It is not even close to hip-hop (goodbye, Automator fans). It is nowhere in the neighborhood of punk (whoops...sorry, Glassjaw devotees). Neither of the two most visible contributors to the album have created anything that remotely resembles anything in their catalog, and that, as much as anything, is responsible for some of the negative press you can read here.



That's a shame, because as an independent project, not knowing anybody involved with the work, this is an above average pop rock entry. It's not going to change the world. Frankly, I'm bored with "artsy" music. If I hear one more argument about Radiohead I'm going to throw somebody out of a window. This is music you can put in and expect it to sink nicely into the background, and not in that bad, boring, sleepy way. It's music that won't offend most openminded folks' (meaning, not attached to their particular niche genre--i.e. not EXCLUSIVELY punk, or hip hop, or country for that matter) musical sensibilities. It is the definition of party music.



That said, it's hard to say whether you'll like this or not. I came here because I like Dan the Automator. He hasn't produced anything yet that I'd throw out with the garbage. This particular record bears more of a relationship to Lovage than it does to Deltron 3030, but even that comparison is loose and difficult to make. I like this record mostly because I also like the occasional guitar-driven pop rock outing. As such, I'd recommend it more to people that fall in the latter camp than folks that came here from the former.



To repeat, because it bears repeating: this is NOT hip hop. This is NOT punk. Do NOT buy this album and then complain because it's not either of those things."