Karoshi

More fun than the debut, if missing a little of the textured passion that provoked all those My Bloody Valentine comparisons. Karoshi, Japanese for "death from overwork" (absolutely warranted when you take the full schedule of their other band, Poster Children, into account...PC are alive and well, btw, looking for the live CD/DVD in the middle of next year!), instead packs a lethal dose of electronic funk-rock-soul. It's hard, highly original, beats for the first 9 tracks, with a few breathers (Dull Normal, Taco Muerte) and crowd-pleasers (Strong Holder, Graze The Umbra) making for a great thinking person's party mix. The Kraftwerk-by-way-of-Devo comparison is right on - I still think Dull Normal sounds like Swelling Itching Brain at about quarter-speed - but there's a lot more here than that comparison even hints at. Salaryman's genius is in taking decades of avant-garde ideas for electronic music, adding a few new ideas of their own, and making it into good ol' power-to-the-people *fun*.

not quite the follow-up i was hoping for, but it still got me mighty wet. it would be nice if people got some balls to buy an album as imagnitive as this, but i suppose most aren't ready. rarely comes a band that has some sense of musical talent, so take advantage of the one that does. so put done that money for that new tu'pac record, KUSUM, and buy this.