Raised by Robots’s debut record, The Auctioneer was just released by Doom Candy Music. And it’s certainly an interesting listen. The record is heavily influenced by Dischord Records bands, especially Fugazi. It’s a collection of 12 songs that combine traditional indie rock, punk, and a few hefty shots of emo. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. That’s not a bad thing, but this record doesn’t have a whole lot of diversity.
That said, it’s probably a good idea to look into the band’s pathos a bit. Here’s a description of the band Raised by Robots, courtesy of their own website. It should give you a decent idea of what to think about these guys:
Why cry out to the damaged landscape any longer? It’s populated with the fey and callous, and returns only dull echoes of our honest intent. The psyche turns inward and muddled, and we stumble through the fallen light only to discover that we stumble…But then again, some proto-human impulse lingers in the center of our heads, by the brain stem. It’s a slack-jawed, single-willed drive to “rock the shackles from our hackles,” as it were. In this semi-somnolent state, we discern a hint of a reason to wake and stretch, like transcending freaks, to the blossoming, murderous sun.
Seems a bit lofty, no? It’s kind of amusing, though, especially considering that the album contains references to Hungry, Hungry Hippos as well as lines about “jump[ing] your bones.”
At any rate, then the band’s press release states the following about the release of The Auctioneer:
. . . spins around an axis of unpretentiousness, without swelling in the mediocrity that often accompanies that word.
That’s a little bit more on target. That duality, that is.
That’s not to say that Raised by Robots doesn’t have the right to want to be lofty. Being pretentious and then claiming not to be is a bit of a cornerstone of being a hipster and those who dream of being hipsters. Of course, many hipsters have recently begun to come to grips with their own pretentiousness, but that’s a different matter altogether.
stevenraymorris | 03-Mar-08 at 3:35 am | Permalink
Holy Postmodern Confoundlement Batman!
Nice | 15-Apr-08 at 4:54 pm | Permalink
Nice use of the word pathos. Nice band and record label name dropping. Nice inability to describe the music you are reviewing. Nice use of band copy to describe an album. AND ESPECIALLY! Nice lack of a sense of humor.
After all this “niceness”, I have to ask, who is the hipster?
Nicole | 15-Apr-08 at 6:59 pm | Permalink
I’m glad you think I’m so kind, Nice. Thank you.
Chris | 15-Apr-08 at 9:58 pm | Permalink
Actually, Nicole, I agree with Nice. I liked all those things, too!
This record, however? Not so much.
umumum | 16-Apr-08 at 11:21 am | Permalink
I dig their myspace cuts.
Marc | 16-Apr-08 at 12:32 pm | Permalink
I’ve heard the whole record, and I don’t like it either. And they sent us a “package” for review. Nicole included information from that package because it was may more interesting than the “ooooh, we’re so angular” tones on the album.
Nice way to have your PR firm hitting your target audience, Raised By Robots.
lenora | 16-Apr-08 at 1:17 pm | Permalink
Whoa. Let’s not take ourselves too seriously now, people. Chill. Music doesn’t have to be about social commentary, but if we’re hard-up for self-assertion and self-righteousness, then it certainly can become one.
Marc | 16-Apr-08 at 3:03 pm | Permalink
Seriously. Especially when you consider that the comments left by “Nice” and “umumum” came from the same IP address…
lenora | 16-Apr-08 at 3:25 pm | Permalink
Maybe I was talking about you Marc…
Marc | 16-Apr-08 at 3:29 pm | Permalink
Oooh. You got me. Burn… or something.
Marc (a different one) | 16-Apr-08 at 4:21 pm | Permalink
I love their music and I think it should be properly critiqued…that’s all. Just because it’s online writing doesn’t mean it should be lazy writing.
Raised By Robots | 16-Apr-08 at 6:29 pm | Permalink
we don’t have a pr firm. but thank you for the assumption. that copy was well-written and definitely in jest and it really is too bad that it dominated the review. honestly though, we appreciate you giving us said review nonetheless, and we are sorry that you don’t like the music. maybe you will like the next one. -robots
ps thank you phantom fan for having our back
Marc | 16-Apr-08 at 7:28 pm | Permalink
Funny how people have only decided to comment in the last 24 hours on a review that’s been up for a month and a half.
But hey, at least people are discussing things.
Raised By Robots | 16-Apr-08 at 7:34 pm | Permalink
to clear up the hilarity, we just discovered it yesterday and posted it in some bulletins in the fair world of myspace. you shoulda told us, you rascals! - r x r
Chris | 16-Apr-08 at 9:05 pm | Permalink
I’M A RABBIT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nicole | 17-Apr-08 at 7:31 am | Permalink
I appreciate the band’s comments, so thank you. Indeed, perhaps we’ll like the next one more. However, I should say again that I wrote what I could given what I had, which I don’t think was lazy at all. It would be lazy of me to write a few sentences and throw up an mp3, as most music zines tend to do these days. Instead, I pointed out something that I thought was amusing and gave it context. It is more likely that, considering that the band and I don’t hang out and drink tea together, and that I’ve never seen them live, that I don’t know their sense of humor intimately, and thus did not see the copy as a joke. Considering that there is no surrounding written context for this joke, however, I think my interpretation is understandable.
And yes, Chris is a rabbit.
Sebastian | 17-Apr-08 at 10:12 am | Permalink