Finally, Earlash.com gets around to reviewing this CD...and it winds up being worth waiting for. Nice review.

IMA Robot
IMA Robot
Virgin Records, 2003
By Jelena Veljkovic

"IMA Robot (or rather, their publicist) want you to think that they are fun, breezy, quirky -- one of those sun-drenched California bands that makes you dance and laugh. Which they do. But they are also romantic, cynical, emotional, sarcastic, and intelligent. This album exposes them for what they really are in spite of their publicist. And it does a much better job of it.

IMA Robot came to life through the collaboration of Alex Ebert (vocals) and Tim Anderson (guitar). They were later joined by Oliver Goldstein (keyboards), Justin Meldal-Johnsen (bass) and Joey Waronker (drums). Meldal-Johnsen had previously worked with Macy Gray, Beck, Pete Yorn, and Turin Brakes, while Joey Waronker also played for Beck, as well as for R.E.M., Smashing Pumpkins, and Elliot Smith.

The opening song, “Dynomite,” is exactly what one would expect after hearing their Public Access EP or after reading about them in the press. It’s punky, it’s silly, it's dancey. The voice of Alex Ebert comes across as a hybrid between the voices of Marc Bolan, Robert Smith, and Gaz Coombes. The next two tracks, “Song #1” and “Alive,” follow along the same lines except that the latter is slightly slower, providing a transition into the next track which throws you and makes you suspect that there’s more to IMA Robot than you thought.

“Scream” is almost painfully introspective and romantic: “I nailed the door shut for peace of mind … You were the best love I ever had/ You hit me high you hit me low/ Time does not slow down for those who dream/ I wake only to hear you scream.” Not the lyrics you would expect from someone with a scary mullet haircut. But then, just to make sure you now don’t think that they are a bunch of soft-hearted wimps, they throw “A Is For Action” at you. This is a very short, upbeat pop-punk song that you would swear you heard on Supergrass’ I Should Coco. However, instead of hearing about drugs, sex, or girls, you get a strong and blatant criticism of the US government: “G is for greed/ O is for order/ V is for villains in three piece suits defining the borders ...”

“Dirty Life” throws you into sleaze with a slow, sexy beat and lyrics about -- ahem -- sex, drugs, and girls. Ha, and here we were, thinking IMA Robot were more than that! This song is dirrrty; you may want to wash your hands (and ears) after listening to it. “Let’s Talk Turkey” takes us back into the emotional, introspective world we got a glimpse of in “Scream.” If this song does not make you swoon and think of your loved one, well then, you have no heart.

“12=3,” which also appears on the EP, embodies that which IMA Robot are mostly about : a punky, dancey beat and silly lyrics, coupled with a beautiful chorus that gives you goose bumps no matter how hard you try to resist.

“Here Come The Bombs,” however, is a jab at US government and society -- linking consumerism, post-9/11 paranoia, and superpower egotism: "And our bureaucratic collective elite/ (With our good in mind, of course)/ Have turned all focus to the remaining nemesis/ … the axis of evil/ Disease and terror …/ … impenetrable America …" From this, the imagery shifts to the false panacean attitude that plagues most American consumers: "Now we're award-winning/ Get this one-time offer/ Buy our album please .../ It will change your life/ And make traffic bearable." IMA Robot spell out the exaggerated way that this country experiences anxiety, and the irrational and arrogant ways that it tries to assuage those tensions -- all through sarcastic lyrics that point to their "lightness."

The album finishes off with a glam-rock inspired “What Are We Made From,” followed by an extra track, “Black Jetta,” which is also available on the EP. It takes us back to the band's silly side with its disco beat and funny lyrics. Sounds like this track was made for indie dance nights of the high-hipster quotient.

The songs are dispersed so that once you experience their light-heartedness, you get thrown off by a serious, emotional song, followed by a biting criticism of the US government, and then you get hit by a song even sillier than the first one, just to compensate for the sincerity of the latter. The record is dynamic, versatile, and beautiful. Even though IMA Robot’s musical stylings are not the most original, their arrangements, lyrics, and the use of borrowed elements more than make up for this flaw.

This record has the personality of a teenage boy, the one who always goofed off in class but wrote poetry in his room and secretly longed for romantic encounters. You know, the one you always had a crush on if you were a girl, and the one you always wanted to be like if you were a boy. Which is why you’re guaranteed to love this record. Don’t believe the hype -- there is a lot more to IMA Robot than they want you to think."

that is such an excellent review- I loved it.

Its the kind I copy and paste to people since I cant articulate the whole ~fabulousness that is IMA Robot~ as well as this reviewer.

Reading that just made my day- smiles- J.

I really liked how they summed up all the songs, a great review. I usually don't like to read the really long post cause i'm lazy:yawn:
But this one I had to finish. Great ending

Totally..That was a rad review!!

Yeah, Earlash has a fairly good rep for having quality writers.