I think it is pretty safe to say that
Ima Robot is the most eclectic band to play on summer wish-we-were-punk fest Warped Tour. Besides having one of the best band names I’ve heard in a while, Ima Robot also have one the oddest sounds. They craft one hell of a unique sound, mixing Synth-Punk, Ska, Indie, Alt-Rock, Electronica and straight up Rock. The world (me included) was first introduced to the quintet with the single and accompanying video for
Dynomite . Dynomite can easily be described in one word, along with about half the album:
Frantic . Two minutes of distorted bass, staccato guitar lines, crazy synth riffs and clever lyricism make up the first (minor) hit Ima Robot had. As totally odd it is, Dynomite still remains catchy as hell. Just as cool too.
Lead singer, Alex Ebert is quite the vocalist. He spits more words per minute than the average rapper on TRL. His voice itself is quite unique. It’s not high, yet it sounds almost homo-sexual (and I mean that in the best way). His crazy shrieks are put in exactly in the right place.
A is For Action finds Alex acting like quite the paranoid one. Easily my favorite song on the album, A is for Action features simple drums and descending synth lines in the verses which evolve into a crazy barrage of noise that is known as the music for the choruses. The lyrics themselves are something to ponder over.
A is for action/P is for paranoid, a is for anger/Out here in the void/C is for countdown/O is for over/LYPSE are for your lips smashed on mine when the world blows is spat out of Ebert’s mouth too fast to hear every word. I think “Frantic” describes this song fairly well.
The track after A is for Action is slightly less frantic. The almost jazzy
Dirty Life is an ode to what else, but the dirty life. Well more like dirty, sex, filthy sex and just sex. I’ll eat my shoe (not really) when I hear another warped tour band play a song with this much jazz influence. The affected guitar fits nicely over a shuffle drum and bass line. The lyrics are all right, they serve their purpose well, whatever that purpose might be. But the up-beat music certainly is the highlight of this track. The chorus to this song is one of the more catchy parts of the entire album, just thought I would point that out. Continuing a small streak of genius comes the most indie-esque track on the album.
Let’s Talk Turkey sounds a lot like a Wolf Parade, or even a Modest Mouse outtake. The eclecticism isn’t nearly as prevalent on this surprisingly normal track. Neither is the franticness. The lyrics are once again, just average. Nothing to go crazy over, but nothing to diss either.
Ending the album on a slightly more odd (but still good) note,
What Are We Made of is a sample less electronica tune. Obviously this alone makes it stand out quite a lot, but the fact that it really is a good song makes it standout even more. Dark piano chords (which turn into dark guitar chords) are played over the slowest beat on the entire album. The descending vocals in the chorus are easily the best part of the song. Possibly the only song on the album I could go as far to call beautiful. Certainly the most serious.
All in all Ima Robot’s self titled debut album is enough to make the pop-punkers and indie kids (like myself) scratch their heads before going into crazed moshing and/or singing loudly along to the clever lyrics. Though not a classic, I would recommend this to anyone interested in the weirder side of pop-punk. It’s a good mix of genres and there are only a few songs worth skipping on the entire album.
-Dan
