Stop It!! "Self Made Maps" CD
[Robotic Empire]
Not bad. I've heard about this band time and time again, but this is the first time I've actually heard their music, and they're quite good at what they do. I guess you'd call it gloomy and mildly involved indie rock led by really unique raspy shouts that border on singing and backed by excellent frantic drumming, pounding bass runs all over the place, and erratic guitar parts that blend caustic, noisy textures with hints of melody. "Name and Number" is an immediate standout, a bit more intricate and dynamic than some of the other songs, and catchier to some degree as well, allowing the band's superb use of vocal layering to shine though. "A Clever Play on Words" is a wonderful instrumental, using distant drums underneath saturated layers of clean/semi-distorted guitars meshing together with bass to create some droning textures and feedback. In some strange way some of this stuff reminds me of Fugazi, if you were to take a little bit from everything the band has ever done and throw it in a blender with some Slint or Rodan, and some west coast flavor... not to mention a more intense vocal presence. A great recording accentuates the songs. Everything is thick as hell, barely getting muddy, and I really like that depth. Resonant, natural percussion, central bass, guitars that are rugged but clear and well honed to fit in with the rhythm section... and a nice, even mix allowing all of the layers play a role without feeling hollow. Very cool. This fucker has by far the greatest layout that I've seen in ages. The CD comes in a gatefold digipack type of sleeve that's slightly oversized, with a booklet inside that's printed on matte paper. All of the artwork consists of collages of torn paper, photos, handwriting, stencils, stickers, you name it, but the colors and appearance are consistent and have an excellent aesthetic. And no computers were used at all, other than some minimal typesetting, so they've done an awesome job. The lyrics aren't bad either: "So when you go to sleep at night, some writers write all night, ten thousand words of truth, then they drink themselves to death upon finding it..." This is a lot better than I thought it would be. I figured it would be good, but I'm really impressed. It's emotional, but it's got guts. I'm all for that. (7/10)
Running time - 31:47, Tracks: 9
[Notable tracks: Name and Number, A Clever Play on Words, Captain Roboto]
Robotic Empire - http://www.roboticempire.com

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