Ima Robot
Monument to the Masses
Virgin
“She don’t screw my friends/ and she cleans up my house/ all of this love, girl/ It creeps me out.”
With lyrics like that, this band begs to be listened to.
Ima Robot cross boundaries. At one point almost hip-hop in their vocal dynamics (“Cool Cool Universe”), the Los Angeles band is at its core a bizarre blend of electro-pop, punk and new wave. They have dipped their fingers into the best of these genres and fingerpainted themselves into their own category. They could be compared to Hot Hot Heat, but they’re more kooky. Vocalist Alex Ebert’s voice can be likened to Johnny Rotten, but with a little less sneer and a little more of a wild-eyed grin. Moments later his voice takes on a Bowie-esque tone on the album’s pseudo-power ballad, “Chip Off The Block.”
On this, the band’s second full-length release, they follow in line with the Franz Ferdinands and The Killers of the retro new wave explosion. Sounding very ’80s may be so last year, but for Ima Robot I’ll make an exception and just enjoy the nostalgia.
Ima Robot: http://www.imarobot.com
