Review Summary: Pendulum's third album agitates and amazes in equal amounts.
How you perceive "In Silico", the latest release from "Drum N Bass" mainstays Pendulum depends on a few things. Those familiar with Pendulum's work from as far back as the days of "Vault" and "Toxic Shock" may see this album as another step in the softening of Pendulum's sound that started as Drum N Bass, before morphing into more a more ambient and varied genre of their own before adding a distinct rock edge for this album. The Drum N Bass purist is unlikely to find much to shout about here, though "Midnight Runner" and "9,000 Miles" do feel a little more like the Pendulum of old than the other 8 tracks here. However, approaching "In Silico" from a neutral standpoint and treating it seperately from the bands past efforts allows the casual listener and even fans of the last album, "Hold Your Colour", access to some great songs.
The two singles "Propane Nightmares" and "Granite", no doubt the most offensive to the Drum N Bass purist are the most accessible, sounding more like electro-rock with it's sights set on dance floors than Drum n Bass. Featuring more vocals, and with greater prominence, these two songs are short and catchy and whilst being nothing to write home about do feature some cool sections as well as the massive choruses Pendulum are famed for. I had the pleasure of seeing Pendulum perform at the London Astoria a few days ago and these tracks particularly stick in my mind as being the tightest and getting the most people moving. Other highlights include "Midnight Runner" with it's up-tempo drumming, and "Mutiny" which sounds almost MUSE-like in places. However, the variety of "Hold Your Colour" is not present on "In Silico" and the songs do seem to run together in places. The track "Showdown" is also slightly disappointing, especially compared to the opening tracks of "Hold Your Colour". It sounds like music to a trendy advert rather than the opening track to a Pendulum album in some places but the disappointment is soon lost amongst the quality of the rest of the album.
In conclusion, if this was Pendulum's first album no doubt it would have garnered much critical acclaim. In some ways Pendulum are victims of their own success in that so much is expected of them. i cursory glance at the reviews on iTunes shows this, some people giving the album 1 star, cursing it for not being "Hold Yor Colour" 2 and other praising it for it's "originality" (Hold Your Colour really achieved all that In Silico has and more in 2005). Having bought Hold Your Colour but not being a particular fan of Drum N Bass i quite enjoy this album. Whilst not offering the diversity of "Hold Your Colour" it does present us with a fresh batch of Pendulum songs, and shows a new side of the band. Pendulum should be praised for their individuality and bravery in changing their sound to a more rock-ish/pop-ish one and could never make an album to please everyone. It seems as though they maybe have tried to and have so released a jack of all trades, king of none. However, this is a Pendulum record and so even though not as good as it could have been it's still at least above average.
