Just a Few Notes Before You Go

Album Review

Music from serious computer nerds for serious computer nerds, Subthunk performs almost entirely inorganic-sounding tunes, mostly with real instruments. It's funny how a group of humans with instruments can come up with music that sounds like it was written on computers by mildly groovy robots. But real people are behind this band, Antony Neely handling guitars and programming, Alex U'Ren getting as funky as one can with a guitar-synth, and Joe Nugent presumably playing real drums. An Apple iBook is also credited. The beats, riffs, squeaks, bleeps, and retro roboty noises form some decent, mellow, background music, chill-out stuff for a coffeehouse, for a hip office environment, or perhaps for a party where no one is going to get naked. There's some drum'n'bass and straightforward electronic music here, but nothing that really excites, thrills, or would get anyone on the dancefloor.