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Sushirobo Needs No Wasabi
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| Brian Dukes, Up & Coming Weekly, Feb. 4, 2004 |
February 04, 2004 |
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Garage rock and retro-futuristic electronically infused alt are the subject matter(s) for this week's installment of CD reviews.
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Sushirobo
The Light-Fingered Feeling of Sushirobo
The sophomore release by Seattle-based electro-pop artists Sushirobo, The Light-Fingered Feeling of Sushirobo is an eclectic amalgamation of musical styles and influences. The album finds its roots planted firmly in electronic soil, but manages to soar beyond the limits of the genre by blending other types of sounds to create some excellent indie-rock.
Indeed, the album beeps, funks and rocks all the way to the bank (of instruments). What's even better is that all the electronic sounds on TLFFoS are provided ala guitar - that's right, no programming board or turntables were injured in the making of this album.
Operating with the somewhat standard, now, format of a four-piece rock band, Sushirobo has produced an album that comes off as a soundtrack for futuristic robots ... albeit on some serious mind-altering substances. Fronted by ex-Posies bassist Rick (Arthur) Roberts, Sushirobo warps guitar riffs and distorts sounds to create instantaneously catchy hooks and infectiously punchy melodies. If Sushirobo were comprised of a group of music loving E.T.'s, then they'd have to have a love for the late-'70s. The band's funk-driven rhythms are simply delicious and will stay in your head for hours afterward.
Aside from the excellent instrumentation and frolicking lyrics, which cut like a hopped up haiku-writing samurai, Sushirobo's music is simply new and refreshing. It's rare that really, "unique" and "new" stuff just sprouts up, and yet, here it is. In fact, the people at MTV seem to agree, as several Sushirobo tracks have found their way onto such shows as Road Rules and The Real World.
Speaking of the tracks, The Light-Fingered Feeling of Sushirobo is a collection of a dozen electronic selections, which rock from beginning to end. Whether it's the jazzy, fat grooves of "Organ Donor," the nerdy love tune "New Laboratory Assistant" or the hard-hitting straight rocker "Last Call," TLFFoS has something for every ear. The album's opener, "Moonfruit," is a dreamy kind of pop tune, and gets things off on the right foot. It does a great job of introducing the band's sound and of setting up the next track, "Last Call," which is by far the album's best. This isn't to say the rest of the tracks aren't worth the wait, it's just that the album seems to crest early. After the crest, however, is when the real ride begins, and Sushirobo's artistic expressions take form.
Filled with playful noise and special effect-ish sounds, The Light-Fingered Feeling of Sushirobo is what would happen if Captain Kirk called down to Scotty in Engineering and told him: "Scotty! I need more funk man!"
The Stills
Logic Will Break Your Heart
If alt garage rock is your thing, then you'll feel right at home with the sounds of The Stills. Their latest release, Logic Will Break Your Heart, is an example of what happens when a band actually behaves like one - with all members contributing equally to create a musical masterpiece. It's good stuff, trust me.
While competing for the same fans and identity as garage rock powerhouse The Strokes, The Stills manage aptly to carve out their own niche in a market that's become somewhat overcrowded with angst-ridden anthems of life lessons and "tween" reality checks. Nay, say The Stills, whose material ranges the gamut from love ... to ... love on Logic. Well, don't get me wrong, Logic Will Break Your Heart is not a dime a dozen collection of ... a dozen ... tunes that wax philosophic about love (both good love and bad). No, in fact, what Logic does do is exactly what the title proclaims, it breaks your heart with tales of love and loss and the flotsam and jetsam left in the wake of love's destructive path.
Now, I know what you're thinking, because I thought it too ... hasn't this been done before by Bob Smith and The Cure? Well, yes, it has, but not like this. The Stills are what The Cure would have sounded like had they a serious attitude adjustment. Whereas Smith and crew would cry and moan, The Stills, composed of Tim Fletcher, Dave Hamelin, Greg Paquet and Oliver Crowe, do quite the opposite - they shrug it off and drive on. Again, this doesn't desensitize their music to the sheer heartache of heartbreak, but what it does mean is that you won't find any overboard whining and gnashing of teeth.
The four-piece band from Montreal (one of Canada's better exports) have been playing together for years, and Logic is by far their best effort and demonstrates each member's strengths equally. You can tell, no, hear, just how well their chemistry works. All bases are covered and the entire CD transitions seamlessly from its moody, yet uplifting, beginning on "Lola Stars And Stripes," to its upbeat, even happy and hopeful, end on "Yesterday Never Tomorrows." These two tracks are must-hears, as are "Love & Death," which seems to channel Smith at his best; and "Let's Roll," which offers up a playful earful of "keep on moving" attitude. Overall, however, these tracks are great selections on an amazing album that really has no low points or weak spots in the lineup. The entire dozen are solid gold and worth a listen.
Featuring excellent instrumentation and lyrics, Logic Will Break Your Heart is a must have for any serious music lover. The Stills may not have wrote the book on love, but they sure give it one heck of a soundtrack.
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