THIS CD MAKES ME WANT TO DANCE!!
Ahem.
If ‘Decadence’ doesn’t turn out to be my album of the year, then it will be very, very close behind. I know there has been a lot of press on Head Automatica, and for good reason, but this disc surpasses all of my expectations. While there are certainly guitar references, the magic hands of Dan The Automator, the man behind The Gorillaz, have managed to pull together a record that is practically out there on its own in terms of danceable fun, without being a trendy dance record. Imagine Primal Scream at their best, throw in some pop, funk and cool beats and you’re about there. In short, this is fucking ace.
From the opening ‘At The Speed Of A Yellow Bullet’ (which is fucking ace), to ‘Beating Hearts Baby’ (which is fucking ace), through to ‘The Razor’ (which, incidentally, is fucking ace), you have an eclectic record that usually wouldn’t be something I’d listen to. But ‘Decadence’ has a pull which traps you in and makes you sing and dance like a crazed loon. Of course it’s not just the beats and sounds that impress, the lyrics at times are just as cutting. ‘Please Please Please (Young Hollywood)’ is particularly damning – “if this is a must then dying is a must right now†the vocals state, showing a dark side to the happy, happy, joy, joy music.
Other highlights? Well the whole record is a highlight really. ‘King Ceaser’ is slower, yet just as much a singalong anthem, while ‘Dance Party Plus’ has the gall to use Tim Armstrong’s vocals, as if to say ‘you fucking dare try and say this isn’t a punk record’ – because it’s every bit as ‘punk’ as anything I’ve heard this year. Sure, it’s not punky in the truest sense of the word, but it has attitude by the bucketload. ‘I Shot William H Macy’ even sounds a bit like The Hives if they wrote a dancefloor hit. There simply isn’t a bad song here and I cannot recommend this album enough.
Oh, and apparently the singer dude from Glassjaw wrote this album and has vocals on it. First I’ve heard of it…*
www.headautomatica.com
Warner Bros
Paul
Oh, and as a footnote, I wanted to tell you all about the CD I own. Warner Bros were extremely nice enough to send me a pre-release copy about 6 weeks ago, and for that I am most appreciative. However, not only did I get a covering letter stating that copying CDs is ‘an offence punishable by law’, the disc itself actually has my name on it and a unique number. Apparently if I even put it near a computer it will spontaneously combust, Mission Impossible style. Or something. But yeah, the point of this mini-rant is that not all webzines have reviewing staff who copy, hack and burn multiple copies of CDs and share them with the world the day they come out. Infact I have never once done that. So treat some of us with a bit of respect and let’s not tarnish everyone with the same brush…
* It’s not the first I’ve heard of it, I’m trying to be funny. For the more stupid reader I was trying to buck the trend of most reviews which have forgotten the music and just spoken about how Daryl had broken his edge. Like, no-one cares. It’s all about the music…