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Ima Robot - Monument to the Masses
Filed under: Reviews, Music, Downloads — Matt @ 12:01 am

I’m usually predisposed to dislike bands like LA’s Ima Robot. On the surface, you could be fooled into thinking that Ima Robot is a delicately packaged band created with the intention of being a commercial version of an indie band that never fully broke through to the mainstream (She Wants brevenge, anyone?). Listen more deeply into the bands’ second album, Monument to the Masses, and what you uncover is a band that takes it’s music and production values seriously, while leaving a bloated sense of self-importance at the door.

Ima Robot succeeds in sounding nostalgic and original at the same time. The neo electro pop music definitely has many reference points- Talking Heads, Midnight Oil, B-52s to name a few. At times during several listens to the highly enjoyable Monument…, I thought to myself, “This might be whatThe New Pornographers would have sounded like if Bowie fronted them.” Not on every song, but that ability to be malleable is one of the band’s real strengths. Every song is not a breakneck speed homage to 80s synth pop. Tracks like “Cool Cool Universe” employ white boy rapping the way The Pet Shop Boys did on “Paninaro” or ” West End Girls”. The songs don’t drag on too long, leaving the listener rewinding to enjoy the last 3:30 all over again.

“Chip Off The Block” is a sweet song that is anthemic in parts and fantastic throughout.

“Disconnect” and “Creeps Me Out” are standout tracks on a fun album that is a welcome retreat from a mostly overtly serious year in music.

Disconnect [mp3]
Chip Off The Block [mp3]