Sometimes I miss 'em by a few months, what are you gonna do about it...
This is from
Imprint Online - the University Of Waterloo's student newspaper.
CD Review: Ima Robot
Aaron Romeo - Special to Imprint
Ima Robot
Ima Robot
EMI Virgin
Imagine this: Robert Smith and Ziggy Stardust had a son. This son became the singer of a band with members who listened to solid doses of Suede,
James, the Smiths and a tiny bit of punk. Now take the magic leap from imagination to reality and meet Ima Robot.
Pigeon hole them I cannot, but you can try. Rarely have I been so enthralled by a CD, the likes of which range from Pulp to Devo to Radiohead. Rarely
do I have such a wonderful feeling of deja vu when listening to a CD that is so definitively retro yet refreshingly brand spanking new.
Ima Robot's introductory single "Dynomite" sums up the feel of their self-titled album. The infectious base line, '80s guitar and
impromptu lyrics introduce the listener to what they will experience with the rest of the album. It is often said that when the first song from a CD
is released as the first single, promptly disregard that CD as nothing more than an AOL free internet CD, i.e., garbage. In the case of Ima Robot,
junk the cliche;. The album is a non-stop time warp to when we bid adieu to the cassette and embraced the compact disc.
The band is not devoid of accomplished members. Justin Meldal-Johnsen, the bassist, was Beck's right-hand man for a period, while drummer Joey
Waronker has been a session musician for REM and Beck for a number of years. The story told by EMI Virgin (the band's label) is that Ebert and
Anderson formed the band and "Dynomite" was the second song written for their demo.
Speaking of record companies, it's worth noting that the CD uses "copy controlled" technologies, so the CD might not work in certain
players (like my RIO Volt). In addition, you can forget about downloading any samplers from Kazaa as the material on the sharing software has been
poisoned as well. However you wish to read the message conveyed by the security features, it is worth pointing out that the inside of the case has a
comment on the usufruct of the copyright with a soggy "thank you" for purchasing the material and a plug for samplers available from
www.musicfromemi.com.