Warner Bros / Wea
2006
Popaganda
About This Album
If the stylish realms of Decadence were perfect for late nights full of dancing and questionable other activities, Popaganda is Head Automatica's appropriately titled answer to those subsequent afternoons spent hanging out in the warm sun. Head Automatica still has that post-punk dance attitude consuming each track, but it's filtered this time through late-'70s pop influences like Squeeze and Elvis Costello & the Attractions instead of Dan the Automator's back-alley beats and electro-rock fuzz. While only two songs ("Nowhere Fast," "Egyptian Musk") fall closer to Decadence's sound, this isn't to Popaganda's detriment. Even with the occasional sticky moment, the band's transition never seems forced or contrived. The overall result is just a lighter, brighter, crunchier album of tight riffing, playful keys, punchy rhythms, and of course, Daryl Palumbo's distinctive elastic voice. "Scandalous" has a legitimate '50s vibe going on; "Cannibal Girl" owns seriously bouncy riffs; "Graduation Day" opens with crisp piano and guitar that build into an instantly catchy pop song sure to get overplayed on many an end-of-school mix (good timing with the album coming out in June, eh?).
Track List (try tracks 3,10,12 and 14)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

 
report abuse