I know, I'm out of the loop on this one. Norwegian electro duo Datarock have had an album out since July, and, well, I'm getting round to it nearly two months after everyone else. So, is it worth it?
By my standards, Datarock have created an album that reeks of 'pleasing the masses'. It's managed to fit itself into the "raging popularity" niche that is electropop. What hits me, though, is that it's not good electropop. I'm talking the standards of La Roux, or The Faint; I'm talking Calvin Harris, or even Devo! But this is far off the mark.
It's got some catchy hooklines, and yet, it fails to capitalise on them by just ignoring the potential of the song for some inane lyrics which make me think that the words were pulled out of the dictionary and stapled together by a blind illiterate. It's really a shame, because behind the lack of catchy lyrics, there is some really catchy music.
It's also a shame that the choice of first single, Give It Up, just bypassed my ears and my brain. I didn't even register it as being a worthwhile song. It was just far too staged and lacked any kind of meaning to it being:
a) on the album.
b) in existence.
However, overlooking these little hiccups in the way the artist tried to put together an album, I find that it's only a little off the mark. Certain songs are just terrible (Give It Up, The Pretender), while other songs show that there is a lightbulb on, and someone may just be at home (The Blog, Fear of Death). They show glimmers of talent within their field, talent that could have rivalled The Presets' first album, one of my favourite electropop albums.
So, while I may have initially slated it, I do feel that there is something...even if it is so minute and small...there is something there, something that could have made this album stunning. But, like all artists, there must always be one who gets it right, and one who just falls short. And, unluckily for Datarock, they just fell short of the mark.
Overall: 5/10 - Some glimmers of hope in this album, but, it just doesn't have that pizzazz to put it up there with the best of the World, or even European, electro scene.
Top Track: The Blog
