Over the past year, Drunk Robots has undergone a slow, loud evolution, dialing down its softer ambient elements in favor of crunchier electronics. This gradual shift over a quartet of releases (two albums and two EP’s, not counting “collapsing labyrinth”, included on the new album) should land it on the industrial map. aftermath is a propulsive, grimy affair, well-poised for success on darker dance floors, and contains enough energy to find a foothold there.
Drunk Robots has always been a fun band as well, and this sense of fun has not been lost during its turn to the dark side. The most obvious cut, “noise is resistance”, contains an amusing introduction in which a child’s voice intones, “There comes a time when you are called to make a choice. You have your right to remain silent. You have your right to break silence. You have your right to resist. And noise is resistance.” Drums, guitars, BOOM! Key the glowsticks! While the song doesn’t develop much past this point, it’s not intended to do so; it’s intended to entertain for the length of a workout, and it does exactly that.
While “collapsing labyrinth” was chosen as the first single, it’s not the strongest track here. The contenders for that title include the brief but powerful opener, “playing in the wreckage”, which contains some particularly ugly bass & beats (a compliment); “dancing over debris”, the album’s shortest cut (1:51), which sounds exactly like its title and makes great use of stereo effects; “a new entropy”, which rises into sullen catastrophe; and the ponderous “atlantis”, better for home listening than public exercise. What do these tracks have in common? Each concentrates more on texture than melody, honoring the statement that noise is resistance. The last 42 seconds of “aftermath” offer the album’s best sequence with a stuttered drumbeat that only a seizing person could dance to (again, a compliment). If Drunk Robots continues in this fashion – and we hope they will – the next album may eschew accessibility altogether and be filled with sweet, sweet abrasion. (Richard Allen)
Note: By paying a pound or more over the minimum, those who purchase aftermath will also receive the intersticios EP: 7 additional sketches that were recorded at the same time. What a bargain!
a closer listen 