Review Summary: An album every bit as inspired as it is frustrating.
After listening to every Devo album from 1978 to 1982 and mostly loving all of their albums in that time frame (yes, even the underrated "Oh No, It's Devo"), I was always a bit scared to touch this one, because after reading every review for this album, I didn't want to waste my time and be disappointed. But, then again, "Oh No, It's Devo" had middling reviews, and I ended up really enjoying it (not their best, but still), so I went into this one with a similar mindset. After the album ended, I am kind of perplexed. Because, on one hand, the material and songs themselves and how they were written are some of the bands most creative and fun. On the other hand, the production and composition, overall, is just too much. What do I mean? Well, it seems the band has seemingly gone full force into a sound that ONLY uses keyboards and drum machines instead of the diverse instrumentation found on each of their albums beforehand. Now, it's no secret that Devo is a very keyboard heavy band--which isn't a bad thing. They're a new wave rock band, after all, and an awesome one at that. But here, they seem to try to make one or two digital instruments fill in all of the gaps of each song, and while I appreciate the ambition, it's desperate and not enough. It makes the album sound less like a music first album, but more of a failed experiment; seeing how an album would sound if the only instruments used are vocals, keyboards and drum machines; possibly trying to prove that things like regular drum kits, guitars, bass guitars, any other non-electronic instrument are obsolete. And the funny thing about that is that this album ended up proving the exact opposite, since this album is so light on sounding natural, that the album is incredibly robotic at times. And while I don't necessarily agree that this album has no soul whatsoever, the fact that this is the same band that made the amazing "Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!" hurts a bit, because they essentially pioneered the new wave genre, and hearing something this overdone and overestimated shows that the band really needed a break from the yearly releases; which, they have taken one after the release of this album.
At this point, you may be wondering "Wow, this album sounds terrible. How come the rating is a 2.5 and not something like a 2 or a 1?" Because of the aforementioned material. This is an album where the songs are its biggest things going for it. Songs like "The 4th Dimension", "C'mon", "Here to Go", "Jurisdiction of Love", the cover of "Are You Experienced?" and a few others do genuinely have some depth and creativity to them. And while the composition and production are a bit overdone, Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale do one hell of a good job on vocals, helping the songs feel that much more alive, where they otherwise wouldn't have. And the overall pacing of the album is pretty good, too.
But even with all of that, I struggle to fully enjoy listening to this album, because while the music is good, I don't like how any of it sounds. It sounds like the band forgot to put the music before the experimentation, as the latter essentially ruins most of it. It's an album that asks too much of the listener, as it tries so hard to make synths and drum machines the forefront, that the band starts to really lose their charm. However, if you're willing to look past those things, you may enjoy it, because I think the material saves the album from being as bad as some say it is, as it, as stated previously, is good stuff. But the worst part is that this album did not have to be this way. Had the band took everything that worked from their previous releases and expanded on them--or even just keep them how they were, this album could have been another underrated gem. But the bad execution and huge miscalculations make this album nothing to shout over. It was a huge gamble from the band, and one that would unfortunately result in critics panning it, as well as the album being mostly forgotten about, which is kind of a shame, but understandable.
Does all of that make this the bands worst album? No, because while it's mechanical, the material is more fun and has a bit more depth than a lot of stuff you'd find on "Total Devo" and "Smooth Noodle Maps". It's still disappointing, though, as Devo should have been at the top of their game at this point. But instead, they overthought everything, and now it's nothing special whatsoever, as it's as clinical as synth-pop can get, with very little else besides keyboards and drum machines in tow. I still recommend it if you're willing to look past the aforementioned problems, but I can understand if you can't, because even though I like the songs here, they could have sounded so much more alive, and while Mothersbaugh and Casale do their best with vocals, it only works so much. Overall, thanks to the fun material and good pacing, I can see how people may like this album. However, thanks to everything else, I can see how people may hate it, too. I'm right in the middle. It's an album that's got some strong things going for it, while having a lot wrong with. Approach at your own risk, and you may shout with glee or shout in displeasure. Or neither, like me.
