Trans Am
Who Do We Think You Are?
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Trans Am
Who Do We Think You Are?
Spunk, 1999
RiYL: Pan Sonic, Can, Kraftwerk, Yes |
The once-instrumental trio prominently incorporated vocals and Kraftwerk-style electronics into its rawk antics on this spring's Futureworld, but often strayed dangerously close to outright redundancy. The computerized voice that debuted on Futureworld serves as virtual fourth member of the group on this EP, singing and speaking on the first three tracks. Hey, I'm all for using the vocoder. But come on Trans Am -- you've got to come up with something better than ridiculous time-wasters like "Funky Guy" or the 7-minutes-of-the-same-riff monotony of "Slow Response," especially if you expect people to pay import price for this offering.
"When The Method Is Right (Pressure Mix)" has got to be Trans Am's nadir, an unlistenable electro-beat pissed on by screamed-at-the-top-of-lungs vocals. "Crystal Lite (Positive Mix)" spaces out the same beat, then repeats it with barely any adornment for nearly five minutes. The voice returns on "Wildwood Flower," which weakly retreads any number of songs from 1998's The Surveillance.
The only track really worth listening to here is "Surface Of The Sun," and it's a shame that it has been relegated to this EP. Nailing down the alienated feel of early electronic music with tasteful synths and a guitar solo worthy of 1982, this nervous number would have greatly enhanced Futureworld. Alas, one worthwhile track certainly does not an EP make. Save your money on this awful album and rock out to 1997's Surrender To The Night instead. You'll be glad you did.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"