Electric Tickle Machine: Blew It Again
It is hard to change first impressions. My first impression of Electric Tickle Machine was the sophomoric NSFW cover art of their debut album, Blew It Again. The album cover made me think that the band’s major influences probably included Bloodhound Gang and Blink 182. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your musical tastes), Electric Tickle Machine lives up to the old adage “don’t judge a book by its cover”.
The New York quartet is actually a boisterous indie rock band in the same vein as Titus Andronicus or The Fratellis. The album’s lead single “Blew It Again” perfectly exemplifies this. Much like Titus Andronicus, lead singer Thomas Laplaige does not seem interested in crooning or even singing well necessarily. His vocals project a certain urgency and emote desperation. Like The Fratellis, the song has that sing-songy feel that could easily be sung along to by a chorus of drunken listeners. The song is a great kick-off to the album.
Not every song on the album has the same energy however. Songs like “Find a Home” takes it down a notch. The track is just Laplaige and his guitar singing what seems like the plot to Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. What I take from the lyrics is that Laplaige is singing to a young prostitute and telling her to go back to her home or to find a new home, but do something besides hooking. The song stands out as one of the most serious on the album.
Luckily not too many songs get that moody; not to say that Electric Tickle Machine write fluffy pop songs but their songs are generally energetic and at least a little insouciant. Song titles like “Gimme Money”, “Honest Injun”, and “Women Are the New Men” show that the band are not taking themselves too seriously.
Overall, I recommend the album albeit cautiously. The album definitely has a great energy but a couple moodier songs do put a damper on the mood occasionally. Although I listened to the album all the way through and felt satisfied, the album is really a couple stand out songs surround by more middle of the road tracks.
Rating: 6.7/10
MP3: Electric Tickle Machine “Blew It Again”
Buy: iTunes or Insound!