album of the week: 8.3

Vola & The Oriental Machine

SA-KA-NA Electric Device

Universal J (2009)

why you'll love it - 11 solid songs with excellent production and flow

why you'll hate it - huge departure from the evolving punk sound

2009's conflict of emotions award has its first bid with Vola & The Oriental Machine. For about three years, the UK style post-punk group have been sharpening their skills with each release, and finally reached perfection with last year's Halan’na-ca Darkside EP. The record was a flawless 20 minutes of high energy jams, that really made me enthusiastic to hear what they would do with a full album now that they've finally got it right.

The answer - throw it all away. The first single,"Weekend Lovers", is a total shock to anybody familiar with the band. To be fair, Vola's then-signiture breakneck dueling guitar section became gimped when a member left. It appears frontman Ahito Inazawa took that opportunity to entirely reboot the band by slowing down the songs and jacking up the electronics. SA-KA-NA Electric Device is a synth rock album, with little to no post-punk influence.

Here's where the conflict comes in, it's a damn good synth rock album. Just like last year's EP, there isn't a single song on here worth skipping. Hell, even the hidden track is a gem. As usual with every release, the opening song is a total killer. "In the morning" is one of my favorite songs of the year. "Turning Turning" is a much preferred single. The closest thing to a bad track here is "Dead or Dance!!" which struggles with English lyrics. So good songs, check.

In a couple ways, this album reminds me of one of my favorites, Progress by Rx Bandits. It marks a big evolutionary step for the band, the use of electronics is cleverly worked into the sound, and the production is fantastic. The outro to "No Dream" has Progress written all over it. Great production, check.

I love when bands evolve, but it still feels disappointing for Vola to take the next step so quickly after just finding their post-punk niche. I suppose not being able to still have your cake after eating it isn't a valid complaint, so dammit, I grudgingly admit this is a great album.