Album review from
Thehoya.com:
Friday, March 19, 2004
MUSIC REVIEW
In Review
Ima Robot
By Cora Weissbourd
Special to The Hoya
Courtesy Virgin Records
The music of Ima Robot initially seems to be straightforward indie rock. Each song features slightly whining vocals, an overabundance of power chords
and the requisite scream-along chorus. By the end of their self-titled debut album, however, the skill behind the group’s slightly off-kilter brand of
punk shines through.
The first thing that separates Ima Robot from a billion other little indie groups is the plethora of bizarre synthesized sounds on their album, which
include revving engines and dripping water. Next, the song lyrics turn out to be quite clever — not to mention weird. In “A is for Action” the band’s
lead singer Alex Ebert creates poems with letters from the words anarchy, government and death. Sort of like Nat King Cole’s “Love,” except not at
all.
This example should not suggest that Ima Robot is a bunch of angst-ridden punks. The band’s music is catchy, quirky and often distinctly silly. In
“Here Come the Bombs,” the band urges listeners to buy their album before the impending apocalypse. “Dynamite,” the group’s first single (about
explosive love, haha), crackles through a series of choruses and beats.
While Ima Robot’s weaker songs still sound like suped-up garage rock, their better songs are gems. Ima Robot’s music is a musical exercise in black
humor … and it’s quite infectious.