From
TANGZINE.COM:
Ima Robot - s/t
Tyler Baber
"Hey, remember the '80s? Even those of us whose knowledge of the decade of excess is limited only to childish nostalgia of Saturday morning
feel-good cartoons and family oriented cinema blockbusters have been instilled with a knowledge of the 1980s as a whole, giving credit to VH1 and
Cable Television reruns. The years of economic frivolity, substance abuse-affected fashion statements, and the box as a design staple seem distant and
almost unreachable in this decade where there are twentysomethings with no knowledge of a Soviet Union. Still, there are some people who hold fast to
the world of the '80s and, rather than just being influenced by it, seem to still exist in it. For example, Los Angeles' ima robot.
On their Virgin Records self-titled debut, ima robot quickly establishes themselves as quite happy sipping cocktails, snorting cocaine, and waxing
philosophic about new wave and glam. This is music for the hip, by the hip, and if you think it's ironic that people take it so seriously then
you probably aren't hip. With a sound driven by sing along pop lyrics about drugs or politics and programmed sounds standing out above the
shoegazey guitar, the listener can picture neon music videos featuring far to much superimposition. And the listener wants their MTV.
Some tracks, such as the opener "Dynomite" and "Alive," are fast paced rebellious anthems where singer Alex Ebert's chichi
post-punk accents stand out as much as the bass and key loops. On other songs we are asked to remember the days when mainstream pop was morose,
"Dirty Life" being a stand out example. These sardonic rock songs and neo wave hymns are all but flawless, if pseudo-pretentious mod rock is
your style. However, the album's token slower track, "What Are We Made From," and its bonus rap track (Ebert's previous vocal
experience was solely as an emcee) "Black Jettas" are more novelty than chic.
From the glittery nigh artsy fartsy cover to politically bent songs that seem to deal more with Reagan-era issues than with contemporary to background
singers chanting "Sex, Drugs, Fashion," ima robot may very well be the most authentic thing coming out of the blossoming '80s
revival."
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