As evidenced by their tongue-in-cheek title (after all, "fun" is IDM's very own f-word),
Stars as Eyes strove to dispense with the cement greys and muted blacks of the duo's naval-gazing debut in favor of something more vibrant and lively for this second album. So, in addition to their familiar strain of polite electronics (which pepper the album at seemingly random and inopportune moments), they deliver a mess of mutant guitar squalls and fuzzy analog drones, which ring with a cumulative and resoundingly goofy discord. Unfortunately, "goofy" is rarely synonymous with "fun," and
Enemy of Fun is no exception -- with moody ambient techno and
Capitol K-style finger paintings misfiring off each other, it's too self-reflexive and inconsistent to really have a good time. Though there are certainly enough individual moments here to suggest an emerging playfulness more in keeping with the work of Tigerbeat6 labelmates
Kid 606,
Cex, and
Max Tundra,
Stars as Eyes still has more work to do before the duo can play. ~ Mark Pytlik