The Robot Ate Me - I'm OK

Every once in while, a band rears it's head that defies description - this of course makes me quite happy. San Diego trio The Robot Ate Me more than fits this bill. Playing on oddly melodic, scratchy and sometimes out -of-place elements - their off-kilter sound is inventive and colorful, taking little influences from all over but turning it into something completely different, and at their best they managed to craft some really beautiful indie pop songs. On Vacation is a double CD of deep sardonic wit and debauchery, all lovingly crafted through the eyes of bandleader Ryland Bouchard.

The album pushes some serious issues to the surface - genocide, politics, anti-Semitism, and how religion has become inextricable from contemporary politics. Most of the disc is made up of samples of old records that make it sound like it was recorded in the mid-20th Century, providing a Lynch-like contrast to the eerie but playful lyrics. The instrumental list employed by the band is a testament to this: guitars, accordions, saxophones, horns, violins, pianos, organs, toy pianos, power tools, harmonicas, old analog synths, imported Chinese instruments. Alright, you get the picture.

While the first disc dives into Bouchard's political-social-religious ranting - the second is a more song driven, melancholy take on tea, love and life.

Each copy is hand-made (in a beautiful Rauschenberg-like art book), numbered, and released through Ryland's Swim Slowly label - along with a CDR of more tracks. The only sad thing about this creative release is that it is now down to a limited 100 copies and will more than likely not get the attention that this vision deserves.

More tracks - Crispy Christian Tea Time & The Genocide Ball