Lo-fi Atari electro-pop that fits perfectly into the Kitty-Yo stable of post-everything groups. The opener, "Das Lied Der Liebe," gently purrs like
Sigur Rós if they traded in their Hammonds and Moogs for Casio keyboards. Tragically, the mood doesn't last and
Jeans Team shows their real colors in the remaining tracks, all popping and bleeping synths that sound as though they were recorded on a four-track machine. The rhythms change up song to song, whether sounding like looped techno ("Asphaltvibrator"), techno-punk ("Keine Melodien"), or abstract ("Ding Dong"). Unfortunately, in every case it sounds more like factory pre-sets gone haywire rather than carefully thought-out programming. In fact, with half the songs clocking in around the two-minute mark, you're really left with the impression that these guys are just messing around with a pile of cheap gear to the endless amusement of no one but themselves. Of course it is intentional. But the lack of seriousness comes off as either tongue-in-cheek obnoxiousness or as severe pretension against those who don't "get" the brilliance in their simple genius. All of which rubs the wrong way in light of the melodic sophistication of the first track and even the completed new wave funk of "'Love Parade," the album's only other proper song. Much like the smart kids who just wouldn't apply themselves in school,
Jeans Team would probably make their teachers happy if they spent a little more time at home writing songs and a little less time in the studio discovering new ways to wreck the quality musical moments that sporadically pop up despite their delinquent intentions.