You Absorb My Vision has all the trappings of classic geek rock: science fiction imagery, misanthropy, cynical social commentary, Ritalin-induced spasms and, above all, a dire attempt to understand what all the sciences can't explain-- the attractive woman. So yeah, Portland, Oregon's The Planet The are essentially Devo disciples, but their music is as carnal as it is calculated. Sounds like Brainiac, you say? Well, yeah, but The Planet The are more aptly framed rather than pigeonholed, falling squarely in the middle of the Devo-Brainiac spectrum.
Unlike those other bands, TPT have a handful of infectious indie pop melodies, albeit ones mucked up by sputtering time signatures, clamorous sound effects, and squawking vocals. The Planet The seem more prone to backbreaking frenzy than pristine new wave pop-- they're more Hella than "Hella Good". Song structures seldom derail completely, but rather jar loose from the track before pulling everything together for an anthemic chorus hook. "Wet Dust" begins relatively clean cut with man and synthesizer in bubbly unison before the song spontaneously devolves into pathological moaning and dizzying chromatic guitar riffs. To the rescue comes the a massive refrain-- synths blaring, vocals straining, and drums raising Cain.
This unstable formula pays dividends on standout track "Please Don't Kill Myself", combining rickety Pere Ubu time signatures with morbid paranoia á la the Unicorns. The track single-handedly propels The Planet The beyond new wave quacks like Numbers and Dynasty, bands that still struggle to affix feasible vocals to their fractured, over-baked instrumentation. Similarly, "Please Don't Kill Myself" does lose momentum on its protracted bridge, but the catchy staccato verse synth reemerges from the rubble and lulls the listener back into lo-fi pop euphoria.
Unfortunately, You Absorb My Vision wears off its already porous pop coating by the album's final third. Back-to-back numbers "Free Jewelry" and "Tighten Your Dreams" hiss and snarl like morose Cex tirades, justifying reviewers' shackling of The Planet The to many unseasoned Tigerbeat6 rock acts. Still, even weaker late tracks "Tennis" and "Envision My Zorb" sport some nifty musical ideas, albeit less polished and fully integrated ones. They may be poking around in niches already claimed by previous bands, but these new wave dweebs got the smarts to pull it off without provoking wedgies, swirlies and/or petty lunch money theft from bullying traditionalists.
