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Memmaker
How to Enlist in a Robot Uprising
Hive Records
Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2008
By: Vlad McNeally
By: Vlad McNeally
In a nonstop mix techno, power noise, and sci-fi cult classics, Memmaker have produced an addictive dance album for the noise generation.
It may be a bit of a shock, but that young contender for the power noise label crown Hive Records has put out an incredible EBM album. Though not as chaotic or as grim as most Hive releases, How to Enlist in a Robot Uprising effortlessly straddles the line between heavy EBM and techno.
Though it still retains a bit of Hive's characteristically acerbic edge, Memmaker astound by adding something unusual to their concussive mix: humor. How can a proper sci-fi geek not get a chuckle out of "Get Your Ass to Mars," a track dedicated to a catch phrase from that early '90s Schwarzenegger film Total Recall? Like a monolithic rubber ball trailed by a clatter of snare echoes, this half-rave anthem trounces through, leaving silvery whistling synths puzzled in its earthquake wake. Though lacking a famous Austrian, genre fans will probably recognize the "death by stereo" quip from The Lost Boys in "Death Audio Blow Your Brains," where its catchphrase is looped into a monotone android shimmer. Armed with occasional breaks and ripples, this piece takes its cues from the power noise camp, presenting a marriage of relentless bass thumps, eardrum-scraping textures, and spastic electric arpeggios. It may take a moment to recognize, but "Robot Buzz" may strike a familiar note among Nirvana fans, as the grunge messiahs also covered Shocking Blue's "Love Buzz" back in the early '90s. Though instead of marble-mouthed grimaces and yard-sale guitars, this Canadian duo opt to assimilate this track into their robot collective. In lieu of traditional rock, its vocals have become a buzzing synthetic memory, while its guitars and drums have been re-rendered into a sizzling synth riff and junkyard breakbeat clatter. Though there's little solace from their stomp-friendly whimsy, in "Insomnia," Memmaker slow their drum automatons down to a sluggish factory funk, allowing snares slide through like sandpaper to a lazy bass heartbeat. "Deception" tries its best to appeal to noise's more intellectual corners. With some tranquil futuristic lounge twinkles added to its acerbic cinema, it gets close to ambience without distinctly leaving their noisome methodology.
How to Enlist in a Robot Uprising may be a bit of an oddball for Hive, but it's one of the current highlights of their catalog. If Memmaker can be faulted for anything, it's that there isn't much variety from club anthem to club anthem. Perhaps it's best viewed as a party album for the power noise set, infusing a genre that usually takes itself so seriously with a needed dose of humor and outright fun. For fans acts like Soman, Modulate, or even Combichrist, Memmaker should make one's play list no later than the present.
Though it still retains a bit of Hive's characteristically acerbic edge, Memmaker astound by adding something unusual to their concussive mix: humor. How can a proper sci-fi geek not get a chuckle out of "Get Your Ass to Mars," a track dedicated to a catch phrase from that early '90s Schwarzenegger film Total Recall? Like a monolithic rubber ball trailed by a clatter of snare echoes, this half-rave anthem trounces through, leaving silvery whistling synths puzzled in its earthquake wake. Though lacking a famous Austrian, genre fans will probably recognize the "death by stereo" quip from The Lost Boys in "Death Audio Blow Your Brains," where its catchphrase is looped into a monotone android shimmer. Armed with occasional breaks and ripples, this piece takes its cues from the power noise camp, presenting a marriage of relentless bass thumps, eardrum-scraping textures, and spastic electric arpeggios. It may take a moment to recognize, but "Robot Buzz" may strike a familiar note among Nirvana fans, as the grunge messiahs also covered Shocking Blue's "Love Buzz" back in the early '90s. Though instead of marble-mouthed grimaces and yard-sale guitars, this Canadian duo opt to assimilate this track into their robot collective. In lieu of traditional rock, its vocals have become a buzzing synthetic memory, while its guitars and drums have been re-rendered into a sizzling synth riff and junkyard breakbeat clatter. Though there's little solace from their stomp-friendly whimsy, in "Insomnia," Memmaker slow their drum automatons down to a sluggish factory funk, allowing snares slide through like sandpaper to a lazy bass heartbeat. "Deception" tries its best to appeal to noise's more intellectual corners. With some tranquil futuristic lounge twinkles added to its acerbic cinema, it gets close to ambience without distinctly leaving their noisome methodology.
How to Enlist in a Robot Uprising may be a bit of an oddball for Hive, but it's one of the current highlights of their catalog. If Memmaker can be faulted for anything, it's that there isn't much variety from club anthem to club anthem. Perhaps it's best viewed as a party album for the power noise set, infusing a genre that usually takes itself so seriously with a needed dose of humor and outright fun. For fans acts like Soman, Modulate, or even Combichrist, Memmaker should make one's play list no later than the present.
