This is one of the more bizarre albums you'll hear, and it's definitely an album where one feels a bit short-changed. Beginning with a marching-band beat that cites various Canadian and American cities in "Epidemic Incentive," the group's synth pop effect is mixed with an industrial backbeat on the bouncy "The Future of Our Kind," which recalls either
Laptop or
Atom & His Package. "I can tell when something is done well/It's got a certain sound and a certain smell," the lyric goes as the buildup to the
Attractions-era keyboard keeps the tension intact. The yelping that welcomes "Heavy Metal Life" veers into a cheesy keyboard-driven track with another infectious hook that sounds like Donald Duck rapping underwater. Perhaps the most disappointing thing is that often these tracks -- primarily cut after two minutes -- don't see their fully blossomed results. The airy '60s girl group-sounding "Rear Projection" tends to fall flat. However, the lovable
Big Star-like pop jangle on "Big City Girls" is adorable and quite stellar. Fans of
Baby Dayliner or
Say Hi to Your Mom would enjoy the quirky and rudimentary "Hauteur Theory" and the overtly new wave blips and bleeps supporting the almost robotic approach on "Persistence Is Feudal." The Americana-meets-country "All in Time" is the sleeper pick, showing the band's soft albeit electronic side. "The Trans-Atlantic Breeze" adds little to the album, an album that saw a far greater opportunity missed.