Customer Reviews

Futureworld

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

After the astounding "Surrender the Night" I thought that Trans Am was on the way to becoming one of my favorite bands. Boy was I wrong. They immediately dispose of their rich, complex instrumental songs and replace them with a stupid robot voice who sings such vapid lyrics as "in my future car/ we will drive far". While still a great band to see live - this album should be ignored. I listened to it once and never listened to it again.

At this point I've basically quit buying rock albums since my musical tastes tend to be leading me futher into house, techno, and other realms of electronica, but Futureworld is proof positive the genre still has something to offer. What's especially interesting about this album in particular is that the tracks on here that incorporate the more rock elements are far more effective than the band's more purely electronic pieces. The album begins with an intense blast of saxaphone noise before sailing into the Giorgio Moroder-esque disco rock of "Television Eyes". The pulsing synths, vocoded vocals (yes, VOCALS), and terrific, monster sounding drums make a thrilling formula that gets even better on the title track. Taking a page from the Kraftwerk school of cheeky alienation ("Searching alone for my future love...") the band delivers a stunning paen to modern dislocation that practically explodes out of the speakers. Good stuff.

The thrills continue up until around the time you reach "Runners Standing Still" at which point the group begins to lose focus and amuse themselves with their drum machines and other gadgets at the expensive of solid song construction. Trans Am fans will be familiar with the band's tendency to noodle and while the results are pleasant, after the visceral genius we've been treated to, it's a little harder to truck with these meandering experiments. The band pulls it together at the end though with another one of their trademark "lighters aloft" style alterna-anthems ("Sad and Young") that has a truly lovely guitar melody.

So why four stars for a somewhat spotty album? Because on the first half of this release, Trans Am finally merge their rock and roll animal and their computer nerd personalities for something so wonderful it blows most other bands away. Radiohead operate on a similar plane but Trans Am is less introverted, more fun. Where Radiohead take Pink Floyd angst rock to new places, Trans Am is like Led Zepplin for techno-geeks. And I mean that as a compliment.

Why did they have to go and add vocals? I think they had a pretty good thing going up till this point and then someone bought a microphone. Over and above the vocals it's the usual mix of agressive, guitar based playing mixed with post-rock infused electronic noodling. Perfect for fans of Slint, Mogwai, etc...

If you can stomach the vocals I think you'll enjoy this one. They haven't lost it musicaly. And by the way, if you ever get a chance to see them live, don't pass it up. Intense.

On this album, they really bring together their punk energy and noise/synth experimentation (with some good social commentary to boot). When I first saw them play, they played "Future World" with two bass guitars and synths, and in six minutes laid out the foundation for the genre--unapologetic rock with cheesy accessories and a minimalist philosophy.

I like the way this album rocks. It's different from a lot of the rock I like, like Deep Purple, but it's still really good. They cover a song by Karaoke Hustler ("Am Rhein", whose original title as recorded by Karaoke Hustler I don't think I'm allowed to print), who are the best band that ever lived. Phil from Trans Am recorded them one.... Anyway, these robots rock.

They are so damned good. Lord, I know I try to play that rockmusic. But Lord, when you sent those three boys from Maryland to the local music hall to witness to us sinners, it was like an altar call before the apocalypse. It was as though they were saying, "Listen up, all ye fallen, we are here to synthesize and prophesize. Now dance!; I like the accessibility. I don't like the elitists. I like the zapatistas. No frijoles refritos...also...check out their first album...check out "Who do you think we are"(they sold them in Australia while on tour for travelin' moneys.) I've seen them play live 5 or 6 times. Seeing them live helps us make sense of the ill stuff they be layin' down. Don't bother w/anything. Just let the love vibes penetrate you. Also, if you get a chance, try giving up smoking. It's good for you.

Thanks,

I'm disposable.

It is interesting how different people can pick up different things from the same music. I had long been a fan of surrender to the night, trans am's second record, when this one came out. It followed the somewhat lackluster album the surveillance (which nevertheless has four very good songs on it); and I would say that Futureworld is possibly the epitome of Trans Am's brand of "post-rock" (whatever that term means now). Previous reviews mentioned Kraftwerk, and certainly that is a point of reference. And for the first time, the members of Trans Am actually (gasp) sing on an album. At first this prospect distressed me, but now the lyrics fit right along with Trans Am's unabashed stadium rock vs keyboards fixation. This all comes together to create an album that, for me at least, is far from depressing; rather, I find it a cheerful and energetic album. There's a lot to like here: Trans Am have a certain sense of humor that is missing from many "serious" modern bands in the same vein, and they know how to find a fine balance between piledriving (see city in flames, portions of the title track) and downright pretty (sad and young, runners standing still). I love this record, so the negative reviews are confusing; but certainly everyone has the right to their opinion.

"Surrender to the night" was the first thing I heard from Trans Am, which is a brilliant piece of work. "Surveillance" just didn't hold up in my opinion, sounding too DIY for its own good. "Futureworld" brings everything back around and is probably Trans Am's best work to date. It's well produced, greatly arranged and maintains a sense of humor throughout, something that rarely crops up whatsoever in the post-rock genre. The first track's freeform sax line doesn't really prepare you for the first vocal line on track 2. Can you say vocoder? Good, because even if you can't, Trans Am gives you more than enough. It's hardly surprising that their first foray into vocals is as far removed from traditional singing as possible. Sort of like 1984 as viewed on a TRS-80, "Futureworld" is a dated masterpiece simultaneously behind and ahead of its time.

Trans Am just keep evolving after every album. Futureworld shows this greatly. From their first albums use of the Univox drum machine & improv bits to Future World's tight, well thought out riffs & songs. Great lyrics & theme. Reminds me of Kraftwerks "Man Machine" album with real drums & guitars, such as Big Black's version of the song the "Model". The album varies in mood from somewhat quick (at times noisy)"Future World" to slow & suddle "Positron". Vocals were going to happen at some point, & they made a great transistion using a Vocoder. One of the best releases in the last 2 years.

You know what I think Trans Am is? I think it's three guys who like to play rock and roll. But rather than regurgitate a bunch of tired rock like so many bands out there, these guys are experimenting with effects and sounds. And bless them for it! Cool thing is, while they're painting a cold and empty picture of the world, their music remains accesible and melodic. This is a fantastic album! Oh, and if you get the chance to see them live, don't hestitate! It was one of the most amazing shows I've seen.