While rock's political side has been anemic for years, many predicted at the time of
George W. Bush's election that having another
Bush in the White House would signal the resurrection of indie rock's political conscience and consciousness. While it took a few years, that side of underground rock does seem to be slowly reviving.
Trans Am's
Liberation is a response to the
Bush administration's war on Iraq, and extends into a general critique of what the band sees as the paranoid, invasive turn that America has taken since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Indeed, with such ridiculous-yet-ominous catch phrases as "Total Information Awareness" and "Spike in the Chatter" -- both of which appear as song titles here -- there is so much to skewer that it's more than a little surprising that it's taken this long for anyone to do so.
Trans Am's attempt at political commentary is somewhat unique, since the band's songs are largely instrumental; aside from
Godspeed You Black Emperor! and a few others, most politically oriented bands rely on lyrics to convey their opinions. While
Trans Am's need to express their political views and their cliché-busting approach are both admirable, unfortunately their ways of expressing their dissent aren't all that inspired. On the surface, the band's detached, man-meets-machine sound seems perfectly suited to capture the paranoia of these times (and indeed, they have captured it on
Clinton-era albums like
The Surveillance and
Futureworld), but more often than not, on
Liberation the band's sound and message fail to connect.