Idiot Pilot may not have risen too far out of the underground, but the fact that this album was re-released and put alongside a breathtaking video for "A Day In The Life Of A Poolshark" means they must be doing something to bring in the fans. If you havent' heard Idiot Pilot, there's not much like it at the moment. 2 teenagers who create music using a laptop and vocals, and that's pretty much all there is to it. They have a unique ability to turn something beautiful and melodic into a rage-filled screaming contest, backed by Aphex Twin-esque melodies and pounding drum beats. Do not listen to the first few tracks expecting to know how this album sounds. I warn you now.
The album begins with an obsecure spoken introduction, which leads into the first track, "Losing Color". With a slow tempo and vocals which echo, it's hard to know exactly what is going on with the music. It's surreal and euphoric, but when the guitar is strummed with huge amounts of reverb against a keyboard lick, it just sounds wonderful. This will be a familiar sound on this album as well, making you feel as if you just put
Kid A by Radiohead on. The single then hits, "A Day In The Life Of A Poolshark", quickly making you believe you put on some weird Super Mario remix. But once again, they break the mould, and when the chorus hits, all hell breaks loose. Dual vocals of desperate singing and harsh growls alongside a roaring distorted guitar, and believe it or not, this might be the poppiest you are going to find on here.
Of course, it does have it's flaws. Because of the vast variety of music on this album, it's sometimes annoying switching from one song to the next. One minute, you are relaxing to the raving and dance-fueled "Les Lumieres", and the next you are lured into a sense of surprise and shock as furious screams carry over noisey feedback and raging guitars in the chorus of "The Violent Tango". But if you are prepared for it, you can listen to it like it's one song, and realize those screams add more dynamic to their style of music. There's always a mix with loud, faster beats and slower and more stylized music on here, which makes it such a joy to listen to. "Spark Plug" is a perfect inbetween, fusing a faster melody with harmonic singing, adding in synth and guitar along the way.
Here's where the album really does slow down a bit. "Morerar (The Locust)" plays out like "A Day In The Life Of A Poolshark", but musically is it more relaxing, and those devilish guitar riffs are nowhere to be seen. It's a nice breather, and although the screams are still here, they are quieter and blend well with the music. Later on is "Militance Prom", probably one of the weirdest tracks on the album. The mix of singing, followed by screaming, and then some rapping is beyond me, and makes me wonder if this is just 2 kids who got their hands on a studio and started messing around. But it's songs like "To Buy A Gun" and "Arrhythmia" which rekindle my love for this album. These dancefloor-fillers were made to just be listened to in bed, and to enjoy while chilling out. It doesn't matter that most of these tracks include hard guitar riffs and even harder screams. You get used to them. Sort of...
This is an amazing debut for someone so young as this. However, they are still young, and clearly don't have much sense in what they are creating. It shows in some of the weaker songs on this album, and the structure of it as well. But I'm positive that with a little guidance, they will be able to bring out another album which blows this one to hell. They have 2 years tucked under their belts of touring both in America and Europe, so we can only hope
[url]http://www.idiotpilot.com[/url]
[url]http://www.purevolume.com/idiotpilot[/url] (Listen to "To Buy A Gun", "The Violent Tango" and "Losing Color")
