It’s a testament to the nature of receiving new music these days that the first thing I did when I went to review Bl_ck R_b_ts’ album – Farewell Black Robots was to Google their name.
I was greeted with tale after tale concerning the band’s recent history, and in particular, the trouble concerning their name. To cut a long story short, Bl_ck R_b_ts dropped the ‘a’s and added the underscores to prevent confusion with the Californian-based ‘Black Robot’ and can now add their name to the long list of bands who’ve had similar issues. Their debut, Farewell Black Robots, comes at the end of this ordeal, and in my opinion they couldn’t have put it behind them in a better way. style="font-family:georgia;">
The album opens dark, with I am are Robot, a deafening track that seeps angst and anger. The following track, Times Changing, furthers the darker side of the album. Deen O Saurus sings, as the title suggests, “Times are changing…I can’t see you, the way I did before”. However, within the darkness lies light. The album moves between the two shades while remaining in the same trodden heavy guitar and drums combo. Tracks like Stand, Easier, and the album closer Different in particular, are truly uplifting. The enchanting melodies behind the brash instrumentation reminds you of My Bloody Valentine and The Deftones at times.
If the I was to criticise the album, there are a few timing issues here and there so the tracks aren’t as tight as they could be. Also, the two instrumental tracks, Dead Fox and Virgin, tend to break up the album’s flow a bit. Not that I’m against instrumentals, but the track don’t go far enough in the instrumental vein and if you include tracks like that, they have to hold your attention. That said, I really enjoyed Farewell Black Robots. Its an incredibly strong record and I’m hoping that their recent troubles can be put behind them so they can make more great music like this.
Drop-D Rating: 8/10
Published on Drop-D.ie, March 25th, 2011
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