InnerPartySystem- InnerPartySystem
So, this is definitely a tough one. Imagine Pendulum without the drum and bass, not necessarily stripping them bare but replacing d’n’b with a hint of techno rock and occasional German rock tendencies.
InnerPartySystem’s debut self titled album provides a conflict of interest in one motion - insinuating rock and dance CAN be partners in musical crime. The album opens with ‘Die Tonight, Live Forever’ an impressive, however commercial start to a pretty average album.
‘Heart Of Fire’ hints at the brilliance of Shiny Toy Guns - “You are the one” or the days of “le Disko”, yet it almost fails to polish the wheel trims. Don’t get me wrong, I managed to listen to the album in its entirety and in fact fully enjoy it, but as far as grabbing the fans goes, niche market springs to mind almost instantly.
‘Don’t Stop’ the first single to be released from the album, is awesome and epitomizes what the band have set out to do. "I am the closest thing to God", "I feed the rich and fuck the poor", are excellent self obsessed lyric site setters.
‘Everyone Is The Same’ describes the bands opinions on political issues and war, and other tracks make follow up references to the bands political intentions. Not enough to save it though I’m afraid…
The album as a whole feels too much like a guilty pleasure for it to be truly classified as a good record. Granted, ‘Structure’, ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘Heart Of Fire’ show hints of class, yet the rest of the album dips into dance clichés, European music so to speak. ‘Obsession’ could almost recognize the music; synths and repetition are actually rather effective this time round.
Hear the songs out clubbing, and party till you die in your bedroom, perhaps not so much so. I guess I wanted to celebrate the experimental attempts from Innerpartysystem, but I just cannot. Next time perhaps.