Trans AM: TA
Thrill Jockey THRILL109 2002
http://www.THRILLJOCKEY.com
Alrighty, here's a simple fact about
the guys in Trans AM: They are morons. What's more- they know it. This little
bit of self-realization has kept TA fresh through the years and now they seem
to be on a mission at stealing the "Electro-Indie glam crown" from
The Faint and so far seem to be succeeding. This is good since the sounds
of Trans AM are far more intelligent than other bands in their league and
did I mention they know that they're stupid? For those who are not indoctrinated
into the camp of TA, let me paint you a brief picture. It is silly electro
music with an Indie bent to it. It is technically flawless, all together simply
fascinating to listen to, and hey, you can even dance to it. Trans AM has
all of the arranged complexity of Tortoise mixed with the 'man-child' lyrical
sensibilities of Duran Duran. Each song is its own salvo into the atrocious
exhibitionism of Glam and yet Glam with an edge. Heavy on the keyboards, vox
distorters, and guitar arrangements Trans AM produces some pretty decent micro-chip
rock. 'Party Station' is a good example of this as it relies on vox distortion
to provide a heavy layering to compliment the swirling harmony of the keyboards.
Not all of the tracks are so easily decipherable though. For starters, as
soon as you think you have jazzy riffs like 'Bonn' (one of the many instrumental
pieces on TA) figured out Trans AM shifts gears and drops into pop mode again
with 'Different Kind of Love' which could've been a duet between Annie Lenox
and Matt Johnson of The The. While TA is not the best offering from Trans
AM, it does induce satisfaction and will fulfill the pent-up Glam dreams of
the Skinny-Tie crowd as well as keep the techno-rejects in auditory bliss.
-John Southern