IDIOT PILOT / strange we should meet here

reviewed date: 07/19/05
reviewed by: suj
rating: 9.5/10

A man amply dressed in a black suit holds a combative civil war sword and slides the tip of this glaring weapon onto the ground. He continues to slide it against the dirt until a line is formed. It is here where most people will be asked to choose a side concerning the fate of Idiot Pilot's Strange We Should Meet Here. On one side you have those who will not think twice when dropping words like "astonishing", "refreshing", "spectacular", and "ambitious". While on the opposing side the album would be best describe as a dismissed blatant rip-off of all things Radiohead. But, in my humble opinion Strange we should meet here is an opus that many will soon not forget, its an awe inspiring inducing hybrid of rock and electronica, with random screaming and keyboard loops that challenges the norm of today’s musical soundscape.

At first listen by the musical uneducated whose likings lean towards their specified preferences the term "different" is a well suited adjective to describe the experience. The majority of Idiot Pilot's sound is derived from the droning, equally melodramatic and melancholic, nightmarish proclamation of the aforementioned Radiohead. Aside from this comparison Idiot Pilot separates themselves with the back-in-the-day-video-game-sound palette of synthesizer effects coupled with pathological screaming. It's hard to say the likely reaction of a listener upon hearing these screams come into play during the droid-like moaning. It'll either be a mind-blowing climactic event or hearty laugh at kitschy composition.

The album in its whole carries a sonic boom to the ears and swarms itself in the face of exceptionality. You have a track like "A Day In The Life Of A Poolshark" which carries an infectious melody with the added effect of enforced screaming as the song dwindles into its uncontrolled climax. Then there’s "The Violent Tango" and "Open Register” that carry with it a smoothing sound that can be best displayed within the soundtrack to any John Hughes film. The tune "Nightlife" combines the aura of the Postal Service with the idyllic screams of Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzén. Then for something out of the blue the song "Militance Prom" dishes out a verse in rap form, and it’s actually pulled off quite well. And its here where words like "unique" and "insightful" can be dropped when talking about Idiot Pilot because there here not to enter the world of conformity and sound like every single band in this "emo" escalating scene, but to test the notion of being different in a world that fears anything out of the status quo.

Idiot Pilot’s Strange We Should Meet Here is an experience that will provoke an opinion from two distinct sides. One, that will find this collection of songs and dismiss it upon its first lick, while the other side will embrace it with open arms and ready themselves for what is likely to become a hand grenade to the world of conventionality.