XM-3a – Bad Robot Man
Available only on 12" vinyl, 'Bad Robot Man' is the 9 minute-plus, debut release from XM-3a. According to the press release it's a 'loud, slow smouldering slab of heavy doomadelic riffage...". In actual fact it boasts a fairly anaemic guitar sound, not much in the way of noteworthy riffs, a surprisingly up-beat sound that's totally at odds with their dark and doomy manifesto and, to top it off, it's not even particularly slow (in fact I would go so far as to say it was distinctly mid-tempo).
Initially 'Bad Robot Man' comes across as a reasonably infectious, if lightweight, number but after 4 minutes it's blatantly obvious that, bar some serious increase in dynamics, the lack of musical variety and overall repetitiveness can't possibly warrant a further 5 minutes.
The track does have a nice smattering of what sounds like a Hammond organ throughout, but the basic feel of the track is that of a pretty pedestrian and self-indulgent jam session.